Bush, Schroeder: No nukes for Iran
 | |
| |
|  VIDEO |
 Most European nations appear ready to work with Bush.
 Trans-Atlantic unity seems to be winning the day.
 President Bush drums up NATO support for Iraq.
|
RELATED |
• Bush: No Iran attack planned
|
|
MAINZ, Germany (CNN) -- President Bush and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder joined together Wednesday to insist that Iran must not develop nuclear weapons.
Bush, on the second leg of a three-nation European tour, met for two hours with Schroeder in the German city of Mainz.
At a news conference afterward, the chancellor said, "We absolutely agree that Iran must say no to any kind of nuclear weapon -- full stop."
The president softened his tone on the possibility of a U.S. attack on Iran. In Belgium the day before, Bush said the idea of an impending American strike on Iran was "ridiculous," but "all options are on the table."
On Wednesday, Bush said, "Iran is not Iraq. Diplomatic methods are just starting."
Bush's trip is widely viewed as an attempt to mend diplomatic relations strained by the U.S.-led Iraq war. Schroeder was a vocal opponent of the war.
In Iran on Wednesday, President Mohammad Khatami warned that the United States would pay a heavier price than Tehran if it interfered with the Islamic republic's independence.
Speaking on Iranian state television, Khatami said his country would never disavow its right to master nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
Bush did not directly answer a reporter's question about whether the United States would join Germany, France and Great Britain in their negotiations with Iran.
"The party that has caused these discussions to occur in the first place are the Iranians," Bush said.
"They were caught enriching uranium after they had signed a treaty saying they wouldn't enrich uranium," Bush said. "They have breached a contract with the international community. The party that needs to be held accountable is them, not any of us."
Khatami said Wednesday that Tehran plans to resume the enrichment process in six months after a deadline in an agreement reached with the Europeans last year.
Iran has the means to make nuclear weapons but says its program is for peaceful purposes. The U.N. atomic watchdog agency has said it sees no signs of weapons production but cites concerns over Iran's lack of transparency in the past.
Bush said the United States and the Europeans "will continue to talk tactics to make sure that we achieve the objective."
"Iran must not have a nuclear weapon for the sake of security and peace," he said. "They must not have a nuclear weapon, and that is a goal shared by Germany, France, Great Britain and the United States. Working together, we can get this accomplished."
Differences put aside
Bush and Schroeder noted they had agreed to focus on areas of agreement.
"Certainly no one wants to hide that we have had different opinions" about Iraq, Schroeder said. "But that is the past. Now our joint objective is that we come to a stable, democratic Iraq."
Schroeder pointed to Germany's contributions to Iraqi debt relief and police and security force training, and Bush talked of "the need to put past differences behind us and focus on the people of that country."
Besides Iraq, the two leaders said they discussed the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and global climate change.
NATO training for Iraq
Bush's visit to Germany followed meetings in Brussels, Belgium, home to NATO, where on Tuesday leaders of the military alliance agreed to help train Iraqi forces.
Some NATO countries -- such as Germany and France -- have refused to participate in training inside Iraq. France has offered to train Iraqi personnel outside the country, and Germany is running a program in the United Arab Emirates.
After Bush met with European leaders, European Union President and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker announced the EU and United States would host an Iraqi aid forum if Iraq's government requested.
Bush also met separately Tuesday with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, new Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. On Monday, he dined with French President Jacques Chirac.
Bush's next stop is Slovakia, where he is scheduled to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday.
