BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

11/10/2006

Belarus president considers Iran's nuclear program peaceful

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful and doesn't aim to produce atomic weapons.

He made the remark in an interview with the Russian daily Zaftra, which was published on Wednesday.

Turning to his recent meeting with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he said, "Both of us believe that the world should be free from nuclear weapons."

Lukashenko referred to the US charges against Iran on its attempt to develop nuclear weapons as baseless and not based on reality.

"Similar charges were raised against Saddam Hussein's regime by the US administrators several years ago, but after his downfall it was verified that there were no such weapons in Iraq," he added.

The Belarus president pointed to Iran as a wealthy country deserving to access nuclear energy.

Lukashenko said that given Iran's rich energy reserves, imposition of sanctions against it will not be effective.

He underlined that his country expects the countries possessing nuclear weapons, in particular the US, to start annihilating their arsenals rather than producing more weapons and carrying them to the space.

The Belarus president urged the stance of his country on nuclear weapons, referred to them as a killer type of arms and added that no country should access them.

"While under present conditions, developing countries are gaining power, the trend of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons cannot continue and more countries will attempt to access atomic bombs," he noted.

Lukashenko believes that as long as the countries owning nuclear weapons are not disarmed, some states will access this type of arms.

Source:

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-236/0610114978155319.htm

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