Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have unanimously agreed that diplomacy is the only way to resolve the West’s dispute with Iran over its nuclear energy program.
“Participants at the summit demanded the resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue, termed imposition of sanctions as an unacceptable solution and described political dialogue as the only way to break the impasse,” Rouhani told reporters in Tehran on Friday night upon his return from Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek, where a two-day SCO summit was held.

Iran and the P5+1 -- Russia, China, France, Britain, and the United States plus Germany -- have held several rounds of talks on a range of issues, with the main focus being on Tehran’s nuclear energy program.

The two sides wrapped up their latest round of negotiations in April in the Kazakh city of Almaty. An earlier meeting was held in Almaty in February.

The United States, Israel, and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program. Iran rejects the allegations, arguing that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

In addition, the IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence showing that the Iranian nuclear program has been diverted toward military objectives.

Rouhani further noted that SCO members also censured any military intervention in Syria, and described political talks between the Damascus government and the opposition as the only solution to the Syrian conflict.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced due to the violence.

The SCO is an intergovernmental security organization founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Iran, India, Mongolia, Afghanistan and Pakistan have an observer status at the organization.

By Press TV

 

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