French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Monday that France was prepared to assist any country that wants to have civilian nuclear power. "France is ready to help any country which wants to possess civilian nuclear energy," Sarkozy told a landmark UN summit on climate change.
"It is the best response to those who, in violation of all the treaties, want to arm themselves with nuclear weapons," he noted, in a veiled reference to Iran. In a speech prepared for delivery at the summit, Sarkozy spelled out the role of nuclear power as a tool for curbing greenhouse-gas emissions, which are primarily driven by burning fossil fuels.
Last week, France said it wanted its European partners to take their own economic steps to punish Tehran for its nuclear program, in parallel to the drive to secure new UN sanctions.
France has taken an increasingly strong line in the dispute over Iran's uranium enrichment program, which the United States and its allies fear is an effort to build an atomic bomb. The UN Security Council has adopted three resolutions against Iran. Two include sanctions because of Iran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment.