US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday said that the global community expects positive outcome of talks between Iran and P+1 on the Iran’s nuclear issue.
US Secretary of State while addressing a joint press conference with Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa in Manama explicitly said that Iran should use upcoming talks to discuss its nuclear programme according to the international norms.
Talks between Iran and six big powers — the United States, France, Russia, Britain, China and Germany — are due to resume next week in Geneva, the first such meeting in more than a year.
“The entire region is concerned about Iran’s nuclear aspirations and hoped that Iran would utilise this as an opportunity to discuss and negotiate on all outstanding issues,” she added.
“The US has no problem with Iran’s intention to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes but what we object to is the pursuit of nuclear weapons that can be used to threaten and intimidate their neighbours,” Clinton added.
Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa of Bahrain said that any move toward developing a nuclear weapons programme in the region by Iran would not be welcomed.
However, Shaikh Khalid explained that every country in the Middle East has the right to nuclear power for peaceful use.
“Apart from peaceful purposes the pursuit to developing into a cycle for weapons grade or nuclear material will not be accepted by any country in the region,” he added.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid held talks with the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton which focused on the outstanding bilateral relations of friendship and cooperation bonding Bahrain and the United States.
According to an official statement Shaikh Khalid lauded the solid historical friendly bilateral relations strengthened thanks to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the US President Barack Obama’s joint keenness to further enhance them at all levels.
“The US role in the region is essential in order to promote security and stability in the region in light of the on-going conflicts, hailing the US keen interest in the region’s affairs,” he said.
The Foreign Minister also called for the need to further consolidate political and economic coordination between the two countries so as to open up new cooperation horizons for the joint interests of their friendly peoples.
The two sides also exchanged points of view regarding the latest regional and global developments, especially the Middle East peace process, re-affirming their joint desire to foster cooperation and coordination between them at all levels.
Hillary Clinton reiterated her country’s interest in safeguarding the region’s security and stability and keenness to bolster the existing partnership between the two nations.
She expressed satisfaction over the two countries’ joint belief in the need to further strengthen bilateral ties at all levels so as to meet the aspirations of their peoples.