Sanctions cannot compel Iran to relinquish rights: Ahmadinejad

TEHRAN, June 19 (MNA) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the sanctions imposed against the Islamic Republic cannot make the country give up its inalienable rights. Ahmadinejad made the remarks during an exclusive interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, a national German daily newspaper, published on Sunday. He said, “Today, the economic pressure on the European people is more intense than the pressure on the Iranian people. We are not highly dependent on imports. The sanctions (against Tehran) cannot make a great nation like Iran relinquish its rights.” Commenting on the nuclear talks between Iran and the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany), Ahmadinejad said that Tehran was ready to voluntarily offer a “positive step if the other side also takes steps.” “If we had been given uranium enriched to 20 percent, we would not have produced it ourselves,” he said, according to the New York Times. “It was much more expensive for us. But we had no choice because every year 800,000 cancer sufferers need treatment,” he added. In reply to a question about the role of Iran as a close ally of Syria in resolving the crisis in the country, the Iranian president said, “The Islamic Republic advises Syria like all other countries in the world that the people have the right to freedom, justice, respect, and independence.” “Reforms are necessary both in the Middle East and the West,” he added. Iran has made many efforts to bring various Syrian groups close and to pave the ground for dialogue, he said, adding that Iran would cooperate with everyone in line with efforts to support “negotiations and elections” in Syria. However, Ahmadinejad said, unfortunately the interference of NATO member states and a number of regional countries in Syria has made the situation in the country complicated. “We have an offer for Syria, Bahrain, and Libya. But the atmosphere that NATO member states have created (in the countries) is not positive for advancing talks,” Ahmadinejad said.