Paris - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner tried to distance himself from statements he had made that the Iranian nuclear crisis could lead to war by saying that he was in favour of a negotiated settlement, the daily Le Monde reported on Tuesday.
"I do not want it said that I'm a warmonger. My message was one of peace, serious and determined," Kouchner said on the aircraft taking him to Moscow.
He was reacting to a storm of criticism he had unleashed by saying late Sunday, in regard to Iran's nuclear program, "It is necessary to prepare for the worst," and added, "The worst, sir, is war."
Continues Below ↓
He told journalists traveling to Moscow with him, "War is the worst case. To avoid that, the French stance is negotiate, negotiate, negotiate until the end. And to work with our European friends on credible sanctions" against Iran.
He added: "We will be happy if there are new UN sanctions. If there are not, we will in any case draw up new sanctions." - Sapa-DPA
|
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Digg
Delicious
Newsvine
Facebook
muti
Twitter
