Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva issued sharp criticism of the sanctions passed Wednesday by the United Nations Security Council to punish Iran for it’s nuclear programme.
He accused the Security Council of acting out of “obstinacy” to continue its path of sanctions, “instead of bringing Iran to the table,” the official Agencia Brasil news agency quoted Lula as saying after an appearance in the city of Natal in the state of Rio Grande do Norte.
Mr. Lula called the decision, in a 12-2 vote with only Brazil and Turkey in opposition and Lebanon abstaining, an “error.” He said the Security Council, in a resolution supported by all five of the veto—wielding permanent members — the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China — had “thrown away a historic opportunity to negotiate calmly over the Iranian nuclear programme.”
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Turkey and Brazil had worked out a nuclear fuel swap last month under which Iran would ship up to 1,200 kg of low-enriched uranium to Turkey for reprocessing into medium-enriched fuel for the Tehran medical research centre. The deal has not been implemented.