Joint Press Conference with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Indonesian Foreign Minister Noer Hasan Wirajuda (Excerpts)

March 14, 2006

Weapon Program: 

  • Nuclear

Related Country: 

  • Iran
  • Russia
  • China

. . .

QUESTION: Yes, thank you. Madame Secretary, on Iran, it looks as though China and Russia are not supporting the idea of a statement ahead of the first Security Council meeting this week. Can you talk a little bit about that and whether you still feel that you have consensus going into the Security Council?

And for the Foreign Minister on Iran as well, do you think the idea of an eventual Iranian nuclear bomb is inevitable?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, Anne, I'm content to let the diplomacy continue for a while before we determine what the outcome is going to be. The United States, the Europeans and the Russians and the Chinese are in discussions in New York as well as we are in discussions between capitals.

I do think that it is important having in London agreed that we would postpone a discussion in the Security Council until after the last Board of Governors report. We've fulfilled that part of the bargain and now it's time for this to be discussed in the Security Council. And I'm quite certain that when everyone has a chance to think about the importance of sending Iran a very strong message that it's time for Iran to heed the call of that resolution that was voted on February 4th telling Iran to suspend its activities, telling Iran to go back to negotiations, that we'll find the appropriate vehicle for doing so. But we're in the Security Council. That's the whole purpose of the London agreement, the whole purpose of the February 4th resolution. And the Iranians have done nothing to demonstrate to the world that this should not be in the Security Council.

And so I'm quite certain we'll find the appropriate vehicle for expressing the international community's solidarity because I'll let the Minister answer your question about Iran's nuclear weapon but I don't know anyone in a responsible community of states that wants to see them have a nuclear weapon.

FOREIGN MINISTER WIRAJUDA: Like Iran, Indonesia is a party to the NPT Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty that not only supports the rights of NPT parties to develop nuclear technology for peaceful uses. In our context with Iran, especially during my visit to Tehran and also during the visit of the Foreign Minister of Iran to Jakarta some weeks ago, we at the same time conveyed strong message to Iran that Indonesia, being a faithful party to the NPT, would be among the first to tell Iran not to put their nuclear -- peaceful nuclear uses to develop nuclear weapons.

I understand that during the Board of Governors of the IAEA meeting in Vienna, Indonesia was for more time to be given to Iran to take necessary steps to really makes the nuclear -- the development of nuclear technology in Iran is truly for peaceful uses. We encourage Iran to talk, to continue their discussion with Russia because the agreements to enrich the Iranian in Russia would be a good solution on this issue. Likewise, we also very much encourage Iran to continue their discussion with the EU-3. And for that matter, we hope that the current situation could be solved peacefully and, for that matter, time must be given for the peaceful resolution of this situation.

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