Iran eyes German co-op in eliminating global nukes

Munich, Feb 6, IRNA - Iran is interested in cooperating with Germany in drafting a convention on the elimination of global nuclear weapons, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told a press in Munich on Friday evening.

Talking after a meeting with his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle on the sidelines of the 46th Munich Security Conference, Mottaki said both countries had in the past cooperated successfully in drafting a convention on the abolition of chemical weapons.

The Iranian proposal on eliminating nuclear weapons could include a specific time frame, Mottaki pointed out.

Meanwhile Germany has begun talks on removing all US atomic weapons from its soil, according to Westerwelle.

"The federal (German) government is pursuing the withdrawal of all atomic weapons from Germany in coordination with its allies and partners and has conducted preliminary talks," Westerwelle was quoted as saying in a foreign ministry press statement.

Westerwelle had earlier pledged to hold swift negotiations on the removal of US atomic weapons from Germany in a bid to have an "atomic weapons-free country," as part of the coalition agreement between the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its junior coalition partner, the Free Democratic Partner (FDP).

At least 20 American atomic warheads are reportedly deployed underground at a German air base in the southwestern town of Buechel where they can be mounted on German Tornado fighter planes.

Around 350 American nuclear warheads remain still in Europe, according to various press reports./end