Germany Concerned By Iran's Nuclear Program

8 September 2004 -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said today he was concerned about Iran's nuclear development program.
Schroeder told Germany's parliament that Iran's nuclear program was "a cause of concern," but the German chancellor offered no ideas on how to deal with the problem.

Schroeder said he had discussed the problem with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country is helping Iran build a nuclear-power facility, during a recent visit to Russia.

"Much has been said after the meeting in Sochi [with Russian President Vladimir Putin] and one thing became clear: Russia, just like Germany, has an interest that there is no new nuclear power that's called Iran. We are working to ensure this with the trips made by the [German] foreign minister. You should be proud of that and not discredit [these trips]."

Iran's nuclear chief, Hassan Rohani, today acknowledged that Tehran is having talks with European officials concerning a possible freeze on some of Iran's nuclear activities.

(dpa)