Ahmadinejad: No N. Proposal Raised by Putin

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed reports that his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin had brought fresh nuclear proposals to Tehran during his Tuesday visit to the Islamic Republic. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a nationwide meeting of the provincial high administrative councils here in Tehran on Thursday, Ahmadinejad said that during his much friendly and intimate talks with Putin the two sides has reviewed bilateral ties and exchanged views about regional and international issues.

“There was no nuclear proposal. Rather, he had brought the message of friendship and all-out cooperation and we, in turn, stressed continued cooperation and reiterated the need for serious resolve to implement agreements,” he said in response to the question if Putin had brought a nuclear proposal to Tehran.

“Both sides stated their resolve to promote joint views,” Ahmadinejad added.

Asked if Putin had promised completion of Bushehr nuclear power plant project, he said, “I think this will happen and that Russians will fulfill their job in Bushehr power plant.”

Ahmadinejad said that the two states can further consolidate and expand mutual relations, and continued, “Iran and Russia hold identical views about a majority of issues and they share close views about others.”

He said companionship of the two great and powerful countries of Iran and Russia would serve the interests of both nations and the region.

Ahmadinejad described Putin’s visit to Tehran as a cornerstone for new ties between the two sides.

Elsewhere, he pointed to the second summit of the Caspian Sea littoral states in Tehran on Tuesday, and pointed out that the meeting had numerous messages for the world countries.

He said that the Caspian summit gave a crushing response to those states – referring to the US – which sought to prevent the meeting from yielding fruits.

“And we saw that those who sought to prevent this summit from happening in line with their expansionist goals, were eventually faced with their real position and now they should accept this position,” the Iranian president said.