Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday in Baku,
capital of Azerbaijan, that his country will not give up its right
to develop nuclear technology for peaceful uses, according to
reports reaching Moscow.
Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliev(R) talks with his visiting Iranian counterpart Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad at a press conference on August 22, 2007 in Baku,
capital of Azerbaijan.
"We think that all peoples should develop nuclear technologies
for peaceful purposes within (the framework of) the IAEA
(International Atomic Energy Agency)," Ahmadinejad told reporters
on the sidelines of his two-day visit to the neighboring Caspian
country.
He slammed the US-led drive to constrain Iran's nuclear program, saying those forces
"have achieved nothing."
"They come against this under various pretexts and want to
deprive our people of this right. They're using any means -
economic, psychological and military pressure," Itar-Tass news
agency quoted him as saying.
The US and other Western countries have accused Iran of trying
to develop atomic weapons under a civilian cover, but Iran denies
the accusation, saying it just wants to generate electricity.
On Tuesday, Iran and the IAEA agreed on a working plan to
clarify outstanding ambiguities over Tehran's nuclear program.
Iran has blocked inspections from the IAEA to its nuclear sites
since January this year after the UN Security Council imposed
sanctions over the country's controversial nuclear program.
(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2007)
