Post by Papa C. on Oct 18, 2007 11:06:55 GMT
Bush warns Putin over 'World War Three'
By Matthew Moore and Adrian Blomfield
President George W Bush today warned that world leaders risk helping bring about "World War Three" unless they do more to prevent Iran developing nuclear weapons.
In remarks timed to coincide with Russian president Vladimir Putin's visit to Teheran, Mr Bush said the Islamic republic must remain isolated until it drops its nuclear ambitions.
"We've got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel," Mr Bush told a White House press conference.
"So I've told people that, if you're interested in avoiding World War Three, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
Mr Bush's pointed statement follows the warm words exchanged by Mr Putin and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, at an historic summit in Teheran this week.
After their meeting Mr Putin repeated Moscow's line that there is no evidence to suggest Iran wants to build a nuclear bomb, and pledged to continue helping the country develop its civil nuclear technology.
As the first Kremlin leader to visit Iran since Josef Stalin in 1943, he also secured the vital backing of Azerbaijan in a five-nation pact by the Caspian states to prevent the US from using the region as a staging ground for military action against Iran.
Mr Bush added today that he had no doubts that Russia appreciated the dangers of a nuclear Iran.
But he said that he wished to speak to Mr Putin about his meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme Iranian leader, during which he is said to have suggested a new proposal to end the nuclear stand-off.
"I'm looking forward to getting President Putin's read-out from the meeting," Mr Bush said.
"The thing I'm interested in is whether or not he continues to harbour the same concerns that I do.
"I will continue to work with Russia as well as other nations to keep a focused effort on sending Iran a message that you will remain isolated if you continue your nuclear weapons ambitions."
Although Russia lent its reluctant backing to two United Nations resolutions imposing sanctions on Iran, it has been stridently opposed to escalating the penalties after Teheran refused to stop its uranium enrichment programme.
Among Western diplomats, opinion is divided as to whether Russia — which has little to gain from a nuclear Iran — will eventually acquiesce.
Emboldened by its vast energy resources and desperate to reclaim its status as a global power, Russia could also stand to gain by seeing the United States dragged into a new, controversial and potentially debilitating Middle East conflict.
