Iran President Offers Bush `New Ways' to Ease Nuclear Tensions

Bloomberg
May. 08, 2006

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who said last month his country has successfully produced nuclear fuel, has written a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush proposing new ways to ease tensions over Iran's nuclear program.

``In this letter, while analyzing the world situation and pinpointing sources of problems, he has introduced new ways for getting out of the current, fragile international situation'' Gholam Hossein Elham, a government spokesman, said on state-run Fars News agency.

The letter will be handed to the Swiss Embassy, Elham said. Switzerland has represented U.S. interests in Iran ever since the U.S. cut its diplomatic ties with Tehran in 1980.

The U.S., U.K. and France proposed a resolution in the United Nations Security Council on May 3 demanding Iran cease uranium enrichment, and said they would seek sanctions should the government in Tehran fail to comply. The U.S. suspects Iran plans to build a nuclear bomb, while Iran says its program is for generating electricity.

Foreign ministers from the five permanent member countries of the UN Security Council, plus Germany, will meet today in New York to try to reach agreement on the resolution.

China and Russia have said they will oppose it, and envoys from the Security Council's 10 elected member governments said on May 4 that their concerns made quick action unlikely.