Brazil to discuss Iran’s nuclear program during Ahmadinejad visit
Updated: Wednesday, August 05, 2009
11:00GMT—7:00AM/EST
Washington, 5 August (WashingtonTV)—An aide to Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday that Brasilia would question Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about his country’s nuclear program, when he visits later this year.
Marco Aurelio Garcia, Lula’s advisor on foreign affairs, said that Ahmadinejad’s visit would be “an excellent opportunity for Brazil to communicate a number of points of view, especially concerning the Iranian nuclear program,” reports AFP.
Garcia said that the United States urged Brazil “to play a moderating role” on the issue, and that Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman also said Brasilia “could exercise its influence” on the issue.
During a visit to Brazil last month, Lieberman said that Brazil, perhaps “more than other countries”, could help persuade Iran to suspend its nuclear program, which the West suspects has a military aim, according to the BBC.
However, Brazil’s Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said that his country would not change its stance on Iran’s nuclear program, saying that Tehran had the right to a civilian nuclear program.
Garcia said that a date for Ahmadinejad’s visit was not yet set, but that it should take place before the end of the year.
Ahmadinejad, who was sworn-in today, had been scheduled to visit Brazil in May, but postponed his trip to focus on the 12 June presidential election.
Sources: Agence France-Presse, BBC News
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