Brazilian President Defends
Position On Iranian Nuclear Issue
RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian President
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Friday defended
his country's efforts to find a peaceful
solution to the Iranian nuclear impasse and
a nuclear fuel swap agreement signed between
Brazil, Iran and Turkey last week.
In his opening speech at the UN Alliance of
Civilizations Forum here, Lula argued for
Iran's right to a nuclear program for
peaceful purposes.
"We defend a planet free of (nuclear)
weapons," he said, reaffirming Brazil's
commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty. "We believe nuclear power must be an
instrument of development and not a threat."
On May 17, Iran signed an accord with Turkey
and Brazil in Tehran, under which it would
ship most of its low-enriched uranium to
Turkey in exchange for the 20-percent
uranium fuel needed for its Tehran reactor.
Lula also criticized the existence of
nuclear arsenals, saying they do not help
maintain peace. He called the nuclear
arsenals "obsolete" and a symbol of the
past.
"The existence of weapons of mass
destruction leaves the world more unsafe,"
he said, in what was most likely an answer
to a statement made Thursday by U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. |
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