Lula (L) with Ahmadinejad
Photo: AP
Brazil's Lula says Iran showed willingness to talk
On heels of uranium swap deal, Brazilian president says, 'Iran, which had been sold to the world as the devil ... sat down at the negotiating table'
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Thursday that Iran had showed willingness to negotiate its nuclear program and that other countries now needed to do the same.
"Iran, which had been sold to the world as the devil ... sat down at the negotiating table. I want to see the others comply with what they wanted Iran to do," Lula said during a speech to mayors in the capital, Brasilia.
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Brazil and Turkey helped broker an agreement announced on Monday under which Tehran agreed to send uranium abroad, reviving a fuel swap plan drafted by the United Nations with the aim of keeping Iran's nuclear activities in check.
But US officials regard that deal as a delaying tactic by Iran and major powers, including China and Russia, presented the UN Security Council with a draft plan to impose tougher sanctions on Iran.
Iran would cancel the accord with Turkey and Brazil if the UN Security Council approved a fourth round of sanctions against it, a member of Iran's parliament said.
"If (the West) issues a new resolution against Iran, we will not be committed to Tehran's statement and dispatching fuel outside Iran will be cancelled," Mohammad Reza Bahonar was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency as saying.
Brazil had made a contribution to international relations that should be taken into account, said Lula, who returned to Brazil on Thursday after a week-long trip to Russia, Qatar, Iran, Spain and Portugal.
"There are some people who don't know how to do politics without an enemy," he said in a veiled reference to Western powers opposing Iran.
