A day after telling the US that India does not need any guidance on its conduct of relations with Iran, the Central Government on Wednesday asked the Bush Administration not to take the responsibility of deciding whether Iran was manufacturing nuclear weapons.
New Delhi, Apr 23 : A day after telling the US that India does not need "any guidance" on its conduct of relations with Iran, the Central Government on Wednesday asked the Bush Administration not to take the responsibility of deciding whether Iran was manufacturing nuclear weapons.
"We are advising Iran that since it is a signatory of NPT, it has some obligation to international treaties. We tell the US, do not take on yourself the responsibility whether Iran was manufacturing weapons or not. Leave it to the IAEA, the designated authority," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters here at an orientation programme for parliamentary reporting.
"It is not for me or for Iran to certify...It is for the IAEA to convince themselves whether (Tehran's programme) is peaceful," he added.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will make his first official visit to India next week. Ahmadinejad will spend only a few hours in India on April 29 in a stopover after a visit to Sri Lanka.
The US had urged India to tell Ahmedinejad to meet the UN Security Council resolution on its nuclear programme.
"Neither country needs any guidance on the future conduct of bilateral relations as both countries believe that engagement and dialogue alone lead to peace," External Affairs Minister Navtej Sarna had said.
ANI