Iran has right to peaceful Nuke programme: Rice

Moscow, May 21: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said Iran is entitled to a peaceful nuclear programme, and also clarified that US has problem with the uranium enrichment which could lead to the production of nuclear weapons.

In an interview to Russian NTV channel, Ms Rice said this question was before the IAEA which unfortunately remained unanswered from the Iranian government.

She said the United States, Russia, China and EU-3 (Germany, France and Britain) were working on ways to resolve the Iranian problem.

The group mastered a plan, according to which if Iran agrees to stop uranium enrichment, Tehran will be offered various privileges in trade, commerce and support in its efforts in civilian nuclear power engineering, Ms Rice said, adding US and Russia had been cooperating very closely on the issue.

She said the group of six countries, will continue the consultations, if Iran rejects the conditions offered to settle the nuclear problem.

On US plans to deploy National Missile Defence(NMD) in Europe, she said Washington was conducting talks with only two countries, the Czech Republic and Poland.

Commenting on the prospects of Ukraine and Georgia joining NATO, Ms Rice said certain requirements were needed to be met and a given level reached to join these organisations.

On the recent relocation of a Soviet war memorial in Estonia, she said ''no one can rewrite history or disregard the sacrifice made by Russia, then Soviet Union.'' She said as an expert on this period of Russian history, she was well aware that no one denies the Russian people's courage.

UNI

Related Stories