Middle East News

Denmark final stop for Iranian foreign minister on Nordic tour

May 9, 2007, 14:07 GMT

Copenhagen - Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Wednesday met with Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller for the second time in a week. The two officials met briefly a week ago in connection with a summit on Iraq held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. An outstanding issue raised during Mottaki's visit to Denmark concerned Copenhagen's demands for compensation for damage to its embassy in Tehran in February 2006. The embassy was targeted by protesters in the wake of protests that impacted several countries over a Danish newspaper's publication in September 2005 of controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. Embassy staff were evacuated from Tehran. Danish foreign ministry officials would not specify the costs but noted that Lebanon has paid compensation and a settlement was due with Syria where similar protests also took place. Mottaki told reporters that Iran was not prepared to pay for any damages but indicated that talks were ongoing. Moller noted that the matter was 'not resolved,' adding that it was the Iranian government that was responsible for protecting the embassies of other nations. During the meeting, the Danish foreign minister also raised concerns over human rights and expressed Denmark's support for a United Nations Security Council resolution calling on Tehran to stop enriching uranium. Earlier, Mottaki has visited neighbouring Norway and Sweden where officials have expressed similar concerns. Mottaki has repeatedly said Iran had a right to use nuclear power for peaceful purposes. Exiled Iranian groups in all three Nordic countries have criticized Mottaki's visit and staged protests calling for the release of political prisoners. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur