Ahmadinejad: Iran 'serious' in talks

Tehran, Aug 4, IRNA - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday, "We are serious in continuation of fair talks which can produce practical and fruitful results."

President Ahmadinejad made the remarks at a joint press conference
with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad prior to the
latter's departure for his home.

"We hope that others will adopt the same policy to help resolve
regional and global issues through negotiations," he said.

The Iranian government and nation have adopted a very crystal clear,
legal and just stand, he said, adding that "We evaluate the current
situation as positive and believe that the future would be to the
benefit of the Iranian and Syrian nations as well as other regional
nations."
"We spare no efforts to respect the interests, dignity, independence
and development of countries of the region," said the Iranian president.

On Iran's nuclear program, the Syrian president once again called for
respecting law and justice in dealing with the legitimate rights of
the Iranian nation to benefit from peaceful nuclear energy, he said.

"Fortunately the current situation is very satisfactory and we think
that those who for many years have stood up to the Iranian nation have
reached the conclusion that there is no other option but to resolve
the issue through negotiations," he said.

During their talks, the two presidents reviewed mutual, regional and
international developments, he pointed out.

"We also held good talks on various issues including Lebanon,
Palestine and Iraq," said President Ahmadinejad.

Since the region is on the verge of a great change, it was necessary
for Iran and Syria to once again review regional developments in order
to make coordination prior to taking decision on such developments, he
said.