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Iran's Ahmadinejad rules out nuclear talks

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday said that the Islamic republic will not hold nuclear talks with the group of world powers known as 5-plus-1.

Updated on: May 25, 2009, 21:12:43 IST
AFP | By , Tehran
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday said that the Islamic republic will not hold nuclear talks with the group of world powers known as 5-plus-1.

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"The nuclear issue is over for us. The talks outside the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) will only be about participation in the management of the world and bringing peace to the world," he told journalists from international news organisations.

"We have said this before and we are saying it right now, that we will not talk about the nuclear issue with those outside the IAEA. The Iranian nation will not allow anyone outside the IAEA to discuss our nuclear issue."

However, he said he was ready to have a debate at the United Nations with US President Barack Obama on global issues.

He said had invited former US president George W Bush to a debate and if he is re-elected as president in the June 12 vote, he will "extend the invitation" to Obama.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana held talks with Iranian nuclear negotiator Said Jalili in April about discussions with the six world powers on Tehran's controversial atomic activities.

Solana has been authorised by six negotiating powers -- UN Security Council veto-wielding permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany -- to discuss the issue with Tehran.

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