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Iran FM holds talks with Assad on nuclear row, Lebanon DAMASCUS, May 18 (AFP) May 18, 2006 Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Thursday stressed Tehran's right to civilian nuclear technology, after talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a surprise visit to Damascus. "We reiterated our indisputable right to peaceful nuclear technology," he said at a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Muallem. The Iranian foreign minister also said that he would visit Kuwait on Saturday as part of regular consultations with Iran's Arab neighbours across the Gulf. "I will tell them (Kuwaiti officials) that the Bushehr nuclear plant (under construction in southern Iran) is in keeping with the highest international norms and earthquake-resistant," he said. "Kuwait lies some 120 kilometres (75 miles) away from the plant while our people live a kilometre away," said Mottaki. He said on arrival from Jordan that his previously unannounced visit was prompted by "developments in the region which require talks" between Iran and its Syrian ally. Turning to Iraq, Mottaki told reporters that both Syria and Iran, which opposed the US-led invasion of 2003, wanted "a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops". As for a UN resolution passed on Wednesday that calls for Syria to establish full diplomatic ties with Lebanon, he said it amounted to "a violation of international law", although Tehran favoured better Beirut-Damascus ties. All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.
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