The accord, struck in a brief meeting ahead of a BRIC summit in Brasilia, hewed to Brazil’s line defending Iran from building efforts in the UN Security Council to slap the Islamic republic with more sanctions.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and South African President Jacob Zuma “recognized the right of Iran to develop nuclear programs for peaceful purposes in keeping with its international obligations,” they said in a joint statement.
They called on Iran to cooperate “fully” with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and comply with UN Security Council resolutions.
But they also underlined “the need for a peaceful and diplomatic solution of the issue.”
Brazil-China-India ‘affinity’ in opposition to Iran sanctions
Brazil’s foreign minister said there is an “affinity” between his country’s opposition to new sanctions on Iran and the positions of China and India, according to the Washington Post.
Brazil has increased its political and economic ties to Iran in the past year while criticizing efforts to impose sanctions over the Islamic republic.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said President Lula met with Chinese and Indian leaders on the sidelines of a summit of the BRIC nations, which include Russia.
“We saw a great affinity of views from both,” Amorim said. “There was an exchange of ideas on how to start the process, what is the best way to find a peaceful solution” to the standoff.
Complete elimination of nuclear weapons
Brazil, India and South Africa emphasized their separate long-held ambitions to wield decision-making powers on the UN Security Council by saying envisaged reforms of the United Nations needed “an expansion in both permanent and nonpermanent categories of its membership, with increased participation of developing countries in both.”
India, which possesses nuclear weapons, expressed concern with Brazil and South Africa -- which both abandoned their nuclear arms programs years ago -- that lack of progress towards the “complete elimination of nuclear weapons” was of concern.
PA/PA
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MNA
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