Khatami and peace in the Middle East; Iran has right to peaceful nuclear energy
Iranian President Mohammed Khatami stressed that peace and stability in the Middle East cannot be achieved without the restoration of the Palestinian people's legitimate rights and the establishment of their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.
Khatami, during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing Saturday night, indicated that Tehran sought to "turn the Middle East into a zone free from mass destruction weapons, including Israel where its nuclear arsenal had been threatening the region and whole world."
He also expressed the hope that peace and stability could be established in Iraq as soon as possible along with an Iraqi government in cooperation and coordination with UN and big powers, including China.
Khatami asserted the importance of cooperation and coordination on the international level between Iran and China due to their status on the international arena, asserting Tehran's readiness to boost and develop relations with China in the fields of scientific and technical as well as combating injustice and terrorism.
Khatami also underlined his country's legitimate right in making use of nuclear energy for peaceful objects, pointing to continued talks with European countries to solve the issue of the Iranian nuclear file. IRNA reported that "Tehran has remained unwavering on European demands for an indefinite suspension of its uranium enrichment program, arguing it would infringe on its legitimate right to pursue a nuclear program for peaceful purposes."
For his part, Li Zhaoxing pointed out to the strong and mutual relations between Iran and China, asserting significance of upgrading the level of existing relations in the fields of energy, transport and communication.
He said that the peaceful utilizing from the nuclear energy is a right for all countries, adding that Tehran's cooperation with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had foiled plots to take its nuclear file to the UN Security Council.