August 04, 2008	Monday	Sha'aban 1 429

TEHRAN, Aug 3: Syria said on Sunday it was not mediating or bringing a message from the West to Iran over its disputed nuclear plans but could play a role to help defuse the row in future.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made these comments during a two-day trip to Iran that followed a visit to Paris in July when he told French President Nicolas Sarkozy he would use his good ties with Tehran to help resolve the atomic stand-off. Sarkozy had urged Syria to “persuade Iran” to prove that it is not seeking nuclear weapons.

Assad told a joint news conference with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that he was “not a mediator and not an envoy and not carrying a message from any western official”.

Assad said Syria’s aim was to “first understand the Iranian position and then outline if there is any possibility of playing a role or not.”

“It is too early to outline this role before we hear other views from western parties,” he said, adding Syria believed strengthening dialogue was the only solution to the row.

Assad said he had told French officials that Syria’s position in the dispute was based on international law and the right of Iran and any country to use peaceful nuclear energy.

Ahmadinejad told Assad that Tehran was serious about finding a practical solution to the nuclear crisis.

“We are serious in talks and we want the talks to be based on the law so it will bear practical results. We hope that other sides are serious too,” Ahmadinejad told Assad in remarks broadcast live on state-run television.

The West accuses Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian power programme. Iran denies the charge.

Western officials gave Tehran two weeks from July 19 to respond to their offer not to impose more UN sanctions on Iran if it froze any expansion of its nuclear work.

That suggested a deadline of August 2 but Iran, which has repeatedly ruled out curbing its nuclear activities, dismissed the idea of having two weeks to reply.

A joint statement said Syria and Iran had discussed a range of regional issues such as the situation in Lebanon and Iraq, as well as other topics like the nuclear dossier.

“For some time now we have said that we are always ready to negotiate, to talk, but the issues that need to be discussed are numerous,” Ahmadinejad told the news conference in comments translated by the English-language Press TV.

“We submitted a proposed package to western countries and they submitted their own package of proposals to us,” he said.

Iranian officials have previously said they are awaiting a reply from the six powers – the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China – to the Iranian ideas.--Agencies