NEW DELHI, 20 April 2006 — India said yesterday it wants an “amicable solution” to the crisis over Iran’s disputed nuclear program that would be acceptable to the international community and Tehran.
“An impasse has been created on the Iran issue but the international community should assert itself to find an amicable solution acceptable to Iran, a sovereign country,” Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters in the eastern city of Calcutta, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
But Mukherjee also urged Iran, a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to fulfill its obligations under the accord that require it not to acquire or produce nuclear weapons.
Mukherjee however said Iran’s rights to develop its nuclear program for peaceful purposes should be respected. Iran insists its program is peaceful while the West suspects it is a cover for making nuclear weapons.
The minister’s comments came on the day the Group of Eight — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States - met in Moscow to discuss how to deal with Iran.
While western nations are urging tough measures to force it to halt its nuclear program, Russia and China favor a softer approach.
Amid signs of an East-West split, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy yesterday said the only way to pressure Iran was if China and Russia stand with the West. India, which voted twice in favor of referring Iran to the UN Security Council over its nuclear program, has been urging the international community to avoid a confrontation.
But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also said that India was not in favor of another nuclear weapons state in its region. He made the comments to a Muslim group on Tuesday, the Press Trust of India said.
“It is a fact that Iran had a clandestine nuclear program for several years and it is not in our interest to have another nuclear weapons state in our neighborhood,” Manmohan said.
“Iran should have all the rights and duties of a signatory state to the NPT.”
