Rice dismisses nuclear threats
2005-04-14 21:05
Washington - Secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, in an interview on Thursday with The Wall Street Journal, played down any nuclear threats from Iran and North Korea and said she was confident Europe and China could rein in the two countries.
Rice dismissed Pyongyang's recent declaration that it had nuclear weapons and its decision to abandon the six-party talks on its nuclear programme as a bid for attention.
"I do think the North Koreans have been, frankly, a little bit disappointed that people are not jumping up and down and running around with their hair on fire because (they) have been making these pronouncements," she said.
She said that the Chinese, during her visit to Beijing last month, said they would try to persuade their northeastern neighbours to rejoin the talks.
"I did have good discussions with the Chinese while I was there about the fact that the North Koreans cannot be allowed just to continue to string the world along," she said.
On Iran, Rice said she was confident European diplomacy had put Iran's nuclear programme "under suspension," and that negotiations would ensure that the program remains strictly nonmilitary.
"We think the diplomatic course that we're on is the right course, but obviously at some point in time the UN security council is an option," she said, adding that "we probably want to make an assessment this summer and see where we are and how far we've gone".
The crucial question, Rice said, is how serious Iran is about agreeing to "objective guarantees" to ensure it will not resume uranium enrichment programmes aimed at developing nuclear fuel or a nuclear bomb.
She estimated that Iran's Islamic regime could not survive in isolation like North Korea, and was optimistic that the democratic changes underway in Iraq and Afghanistan in the long term would undermine the theocratic government.
Regarding Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's warnings about Iran when he met President George W Bush earlier this week, Rice said they provided "no new revelation" on Iran's alleged nuclear programme.
Rice said negotiations with oil-rich states like Iran were becoming more delicate because of the rising world demand for oil.
"We do need to recognise and help countries deal with the energy demands they are facing," she said, adding that Washington was involved in "energy dialogues" with an increasing number of countries, including India and Brazil.
"Oil-rich troublesome states will have leverage if you can't help people find alternative means to meet their energy needs," Rice said.