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CORRECTED: Summary of Kyodo News' interview with U.S. Ambassador to U.N. Bolton+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)NEW YORK, March 1_(Kyodo) _ The following is the summary of Kyodo News' interview with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton on Wednesday: Iran's nuclear program -- The report issued by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei late last month shows clearly the extent to which the Iranians have been attempting to develop nuclear weapons capability, although the report itself does not draw that conclusion. Everything in there is really consistent with our view that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, and I think it's a useful report to have as we begin to consider what the next step to take in the U.N. Security Council. -- What we're doing now is really waiting to give a last chance to the very generous offer made by the Russians to the Iranians, in terms of enriching fuel that they might need for their nuclear reactors. The Iranians, as of the time we speak, have shown absolutely no inclination to give up their own efforts to enrich uranium on their own. -- So, that means quite likely, by the middle of next week, the U.N. Security Council will begin to think about what the next steps are. One of the first things we'll do is make it clear that the council believes that Iran has to comply with the existing IAEA resolution, which they are absolutely not doing. -- I've never been in any doubt as to the strength of the Japanese commitment against the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons. The difficulty, of course, is that Iran has used its oil and natural gas as weapon, and used it very skillfully with a variety of countries. They've used it with India, China, with others, and I think the difficulty that a country that's dealing with Iran finds itself in is that the Iranians have leverage, which they are not reluctant to use over countries. -- I have no doubt about Japan's commitment on the nonproliferation front, but it's a reality we have to take into account, and I hope that Japan will follow through on the policies it's articulated in order to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons. And I hope that there's a way to work around the energy question, but it may be awkward for Japan. We understand that, but we think it's important to stick together on the nonproliferation. -- (On whether Japan would have no choice but to withdraw from a project to develop oil in Iran's Azadegan oil field if Tehran does not change its nuclear policy) That's obviously a matter for Japan's decision, although it's our understanding it has been for some time, but the Japanese have made it clear to the Iranians that if there's a real problem on the nonproliferation front, that the contract can be broken. Sudan -- We're quite concerned about the security situation in Darfur because the situation there obviously continues to deteriorate. In terms of Japanese participation in U.N. peacekeeping operations in Darfur, I think that'd be something that would be very welcome. U.N. Security Council reform -- It remains very much our view that Japan deserves a permanent seat on the Security Council. We think they should have a permanent seat. There are a number of formulas that are being discussed and right now we don't see any of them as being formulas that would get the necessary support. -- We know the feelings in the Japanese Diet that Japan's contribution to the budget is 19 percent and many people in the Diet say "why are we paying that much and we are not a permanent member." We are very aware of how serious this is in Japan and it's one reason why we are pleased to continue to try to work with the Japanese mission here and in capitals to see if we can't make this happen. |