Tehran, YJC. The Iranian and British heads of government met on Wednesday, making the first such meeting in nearly four decades.
The Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and British Prime
Minister David Cameron held the historic meeting in New York on the sidelines
of the UN annual General Assembly.
"Iran seeks constructive cooperation with the world which is
based on common respect and interests. As for the UK, we are also interested in
launching good relations and expanding cooperation,” stated Rouhani.
He also stressed the need for two countries to facilitate
mutual tourism and hoped that the two countries engage in more cultural
interaction.
Pointing to the Iran-5+1 talks on Iran’s nuclear program he
said "In Iran, we are intent upon reaching a comprehensive outcome in the negotiations
and we seek peaceful activities within the NPT.”
The IAEA reports prove that Iran has made no divergence, he
asserted.
He noted "The sanctions approach yielded no result; but was
rather deteriorating for all sides. The end of sanctions and onset of
agreements can help extensive, stable relations among the sides.”
Cameron for his part pointed to recent years disagreements
between Iran and the UK and maintained that the opportunity is very important
to reconstruct Iran-West relations.
There are great opportunities in economy and in scientific
topics for cooperation and talks between the two countries, he said.
The UK prime minister noted that like any other country, Iran
has the right to make peaceful use of nuclear energy, praising Iran for its
attempts to reach a comprehensive agreement on its nuclear program.
He also expressed gratitude toward Iran for helping settle
the new Iraqi government.