Bush speaks of third world war
The US president has said that Iran's possession of nuclear weapons would threaten world peace
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Syria, Iran, North Korea and Belarus are among the "brutal regimes" named by United States president George Bush in a speech to the United Nations. |  |
Thursday, 18, Oct 2007 09:09
US president George Bush has said the world faces the danger of a third world war if Iran is allowed to develop nuclear weapons.
He made the comment while answering questions at a press conference dominated by questions about international security.
When asked about Russian president Vladimir Putin's view that Iran is not seeking nuclear weapons, the US leader said he disagreed with Moscow's stance, adding that the Islamic republic's possession of atomic bombs could endanger world peace.
"[We have] got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel. So I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding world war three, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from [having] the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon," said Mr Bush.
"I take the threat of Iran with a nuclear weapon very seriously. And we'll continue to work with all nations about the seriousness of this threat," he added.
The US head of state said he hoped countries around the world would work towards isolating Iran, so that it would change plans over its nuclear programme.
In a speech before taking questions from journalists, Mr Bush also urged Congress to help him achieve his domestic policy goals in his final year in office.
Mr Bush said Congress had important decisions on healthcare and education to make and urged the US legislative body not to work on historical problems such as the alleged genocide of Armenians by Turkey.
Last week members of Congress' foreign affairs committee passed a resolution describing the killing of Armenians after 1915 as genocide.
The move has enraged Turkey, whose parliament recently allowed incursions to deal with security problems in Iraq.
The president said he was urging Turkey not to take bold measures such as sending troops to its neighbour to deal with Kurdish terrorists apparently operating from the area.
"There's a better way to deal with the issue than having the Turks send massive troops into the country," said Mr Bush, commenting on the situation in Iraq.
The US president also said he was upbeat about the framework for negotiations over North Korea's nuclear programme, but declined to comment on a question about whether Israel had struck a nuclear facility in Syria this September.