Ahmadinejad: Iran does not need to gain West's trust
Upon arriving in New York for review meeting of nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Islamic Republic's president says, 'We should not offer ways to obtain their trust as Iran abides by the international law and acts within its framework'
Ahmadinejad, on arriving in New York to participate in a review meeting of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), said Western powers are not seeking to build trust with the Islamic Republic, IRNA reported.
"We should not offer ways to obtain their trust as Iran abides by the international law and acts within its framework," Ahmadinejad said as he landed at New York's JFK airport.
"Iran is committed to international regulations," he said, adding that Western powers "who have stockpiled nuclear weapons, have used them and are monopolizing them, are not seeking to build trust" with Iran.
Ahmadinejad, who has enraged the West with his country's dogged pursuance of a nuclear program, also said Iran will make "practical, fair and clear proposals" aimed at world security at the NPT conference.
"These proposals will be outlined on Monday in the conference," he said, adding that "disarmament and peaceful use of nuclear energy" are the two main world issues.
"We consider disarmament to be an influential issue in world security and we are pursuing it."
Ahmadinejad on Sunday said the NPT has failed in the last 40 years when it came to issues such as disarmament and non-proliferation as some countries procured the nuclear bomb during this period.
Among first to speak at meeting
Iran is a signatory of the NPT, a creation of the UN nuclear watchdog, and as such has the right to enrich uranium – the most controversial part of its nuclear program.Washington, its ally Israel – widely believed to be the Middle East's sole but undeclared nuclear weapons power – and other world powers accuse Iran of masking a weapons drive under the guise of what Tehran says is a purely civilian atomic program.
Ahmadinejad's trip had triggered controversy even before he left for New York, with Iranian officials saying the United States had rejected visas for several members of his delegation.
Ahmadinejad is expected to be among the first to speak at the opening session of the NPT review conference but US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week warned him not to disrupt the gathering.
The review conference, which is held every five years, comes 40 years after the landmark NPT came into force and it aims to discuss how to further the treaty's full implementation and universality.
The focus in more than three weeks of discussions will be on the treaty's three main pillars: non-proliferation, disarmament and peaceful use of nuclear energy.
