Visiting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday his country was open to negotiations over nuclear issues, provided its right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes was safeguarded.
Iran has the inalienable rights to have nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, and in this context, it is willing to consider proposals to resolve the issue, said Ahmadinejad.
Ahmadinejad made the remarks at a joint press conference after holding talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahamad Badawi in the administrative center of Putrajaya.
Speaking through an interpreter, Ahmadinejad said Iran did not want to fight with any country but it was capable of defending itself and securing its national interests.
"We are ready to negotiate but if some parties or persons want to address us from the position of a master, it is very clear that they will only trouble themselves. We are going to continue on the present road quite peacefully, in a calm manner, and within the laws and regulations," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency.
Ahmadinejad also criticized some powers for spending a huge sum of money stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, adding his country wanted to see a world free of those weapons.
Earlier, Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said, Malaysia, as chairman of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), hoped Iran's nuclear issue could be resolved through dialogue and discussions.
Ahmadinejad arrived in Kuala Lumpur Wednesday evening on a three-day state visit. This is his first ever visit to Malaysia since he took office as Iranian President in August last year.