Brasília – Today (22nd), after luncheon with the Lebanese president, Michel Sleiman, in Brasília (the Brazilian capital), president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated that he has ordered the Brazilian minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim, to travel today to Tehran, the Iranian capital, to discuss the country’s nuclear program. “We are going to talk in order to try to develop each and every decision prior to my arrival in Tehran,” said Lula, during a press conference, referring to the visit that he will pay to Iran in May.
Brazil is against the imposition of new sanctions on Iran by the UN Security Council, and calls for a negotiated solution to the impasse on the country’s nuclear program. The Iranian government claims that it seeks uranium enriching for peaceful purposes, but Western powers, in particular the United States, are suspicious that Tehran might be seeking to develop atomic weapons.
“We want to prepare my trip, to learn what are the possibilities of us having the [international atomic energy] agency reach an agreement with Iran,” said the president. Amorim will also travel to Turkey and Russia. Brazil, Turkey and Lebanon are against the tightening of the sanctions, and the three countries are presently temporary members of the Security Council.
Lula stated once more that Brazil is for the use of nuclear power for peaceful purposes. “We want for Iran what we want for Brazil, and the Brazilian Constitution prohibits nuclear weapons,” he declared. “We have got moral and political authority to discuss the matter with whoever,” he added.
According to the president, “discussing world peace is not a privilege of one or other country, but of all those who practice peace on a daily basis.” Brazil is seeking to have greater input in Middle East conflict negotiations.
Lula also said that it takes effort to reach a negotiated solution to the Iranian issue. “I believe that the maturity of the men that comprise the Security Council will prevail,” he stated. According to him, the guarantee that Iran and other countries will not develop nuclear weapons lies in the signing of international treaties formulated by multilateral organizations, such as the UN.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
