Canada's Harper backs US nuclear standoff with Iran
Canada's prime minister backed US-led efforts to halt Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program, but hopes for a peaceful resolution and refuted claims the feud is fueling higher oil prices.
"I think that our allies have a very serious concern when you see a regime like Iran with the kind of values it stands for, the kind of human rights abuses we've seen there," Prime Minister Stephen Harper told reporters.
"I think our allies have a completely legitimate case in being concerned about a regime like that gaining access to nuclear weapons."
Harper said he had discussed Iran's nuclear ambitions with US President George W. Bush at a summit in Mexico last month and Foreign Minister Peter MacKay talked about it again with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last week.
"Canada certainly will work with our allies to try and bring about a peaceful solution that does not leave the government of Iran in possession of nuclear armaments," Harper said.
"Right now, the Americans are consulting with their allies and other permanent members of the Security Council on finding a peaceful solution, and I think that's what we'd all prefer to see," he added.
Earlier Tuesday, world oil prices hit records above 72 dollars a barrel in London and close to 71 dollars in New York as the market fretted over possible military conflict between the United States and Iran.
Iran is the world's fourth and OPEC's second crude producer, at around four million barrels a day.
Washington accuses Iran of working secretly to build nuclear weapons under cover of a nuclear energy program it is developing with Russian assistance.
Iran denies this charge and says the program is strictly for producing nuclear energy, and is refusing to comply with a Security Council demand to freeze sensitive enrichment work.
Asked about a possible link between the spike in oil prices and the nuclear standoff, Harper said: "I think it's -- frankly -- a little bit hard to believe that tough talk is responsible."
"I think oil prices are driven largely by supply and demand, and ... demand is gradually outstripping supply, and there's long-term upward pressure on prices, so I have my doubts that prices can be attributed to" the standoff.
With some 179 billion barrels in Alberta's oil sands, Canada ranks second behind Saudi Arabia in petroleum reserves, but because of the high extraction costs, the deposits were long neglected, except by local companies.
Since 2000, skyrocketing crude oil prices and improved extraction methods have made it more economical to exploit the sands and lured several international oil companies and 22 billion US dollars in investment.
AFP
