ARMENIA SUPPORTS IRAN’S CIVILIAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM,- IRANIAN ISNA REPORTS

Noyan Tapan

Nov 25, 2008

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 25, NOYAN TAPAN. The Secretary of Armenian National
Security Council Arthur Baghdasaryan said here on Sunday that Armenia
supports Iran’s "civilian nuclear program," Iranian Students news
agency (ISNA) reported. Baghdasaryan made his remarks during his
visit with his Iranian counterpart Saeed Jalili.

The United States, Israel and their Western allies accuse Iran of
secretly developing nuclear weapons, but Iran insists that its nuclear
program is only for generating electricity.

He urged the expansion of ties between Iran and Armenia on a multiple
grounds of "economic, diplomatic, defense and security relations."

Meanwhile, Baghdasaryan also called on Iran to actively cooperate in
Caucasus security, the report said.

Caucasus suffers the two unsettled conflicts, one is between Armenia
and Azerbaijan, the other is Russia and Georgia. Iran has made several
attempts to have a role in the region’s hot issue.

"Iran’s basic policy seeks practical support for promoting regional
peace and preventing crisis," Jalili said, adding that "cross-regional
forces’ interference only creates crisis and regional issues need to
be settled only by regional countries," according to ISNA.