By DPA,
Tehran : Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Sunday welcomed the resumption of nuclear talks with world powers but reiterated that Iran would make no compromise whatsoever on its nuclear programme.
“Iran welcomes talks but the other side should not think that we will resume the talks from the position of weakness due to the sanctions (imposed on Iran),” Ahmadinejad said in a speech in the city of Ardebil in northwestern Iran.
“No one in Iran is ready to make the least of compromise regarding our nuclear programmes,” he added in the speech, carried live by the news network Khabar.
Iran and the 5+1, a group that comprises the US, Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany, are scheduled to resume the nuclear talks after one year.
The talks scheduled for Nov 15 in Vienna are to be led by European Union’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, representing the
5+1 group and Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saedi Jalili.
While the world powers seek a suspension of Iran’s uranium enrichment work, Tehran says the talks should be aimed at acknowledging the country’s nuclear projects, including the controversial enrichment process.
“We also have some conditions, one of them is whether the aim of the talks is seeking friendship or enmity with Iran,” Ahmadinejad said.
“The talks should be based on logic and we sincerely hope that if the other side fails with the logic, it will not again refer to alternatives such as sanctions and threats as in Iran not even five-year-old kids are afraid any more of these threats,” the Iranian president added.
He also called on the world powers to clarify their stance on the rules and regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as well as the nuclear bombs in possession of Israel.
“It would be anything but logical to expect only Iran to follow the IAEA rules and others not,” Ahmadinejad said, referring to Israel neither following the Non-Proliferation Treaty rules nor accepting the IAEA membership and inspections.
Ahmadinejad said that if the upcoming talks were not focused on main issues but renewed ultimatums against Iran, “you (5+1) will not achieve anything but what you have achieved so far, which is nothing”.