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Syria defends Iranian nuclear programme
 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (R) meets Iran's Supreme National Security Council secretary, Saeed Jalili, Damascus, Dec. 3. (Reuters/SANA) |
At a Dec. 4 meeting with Saeed Jalili, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad defended Iran's controversial nuclear programme and promised to continue the cooperation between the two countries to serve the security and peace of the region and its people.
Al-Assad stressed the right of Iran and other signatory countries of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to enrich uranium for peaceful civilian purposes.
The meeting was also attended by Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, the Iranian ambassador to Damascus and a delegation accompanying Jalili.
President al-Assad's remarks followed comments by former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, in which he called upon quarrelling political factions in his country to stand together in the face of foreign pressure on Tehran over its nuclear programme.
During a joint press conference with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, Jalili stated that Iran had a legitimate need for uranium enriched to 20 percent, adding that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) "should help all of its members acquire nuclear energy."
On Nov. 27, the IAEA passed a vote to monitor Iran, demanding that construction work on a second nuclear facility in the city of Qom cease.
Minister Muallem explained that the Iranian nuclear issue had been on the table for discussion between President al-Assad and French President Nicolas Sarkozy during their summit last month in Paris. He confirmed that Syria is not mediating the issue but supports the terms of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons allowing signatories the right to enrich uranium for the peaceful use of atomic energy.
He also said that it was necessary to examine Iranian mistrust of the West based on Iran’s previous experiences. Muallem expressed his hope that there would be a "political solution" to the issue and that things would not reach the point of confrontation or sanctions, which would only create barriers to political dialogue.
Syria and Iran have already reviewed Iran’s nuclear programme several times this year at the presidential level.
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