SHANGHAI (MNA) - President Mahmud Ahmadinejad who was in China to attend the 6th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit held separate and fruitful talks with leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and the Indian oil minister who represented his country in the conference.

The Iranian president discussed bilateral ties, regional and international issues, energy, economic and security cooperation with the SCO members.

The summit was officially opened on Thursday and lasted until Friday.

Ahmadinejad also discussed Iran’s nuclear policy, notably with Vladimir Putin of Russia and Hu Jintao of China, the leaders of two major countries which, along with the European Union trio of France, Britain, and Germany and the United States, presented a nuclear offer to Iran on June 6.

President Ahmadinejad’s participation in the SCO summit and his separate meetings with the leaders of China and Russia received a wide-scale media attention. The U.S. administration was not able to hide its anger at the presence of Iran in the SCO regional bloc which Washington sees as a threat to its presence in Central Asia.

The SCO groups China and Russia with the four Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran, Pakistan, India and Mongolia are observer nations.

Addressing the summit meeting on Thursday, the Iranian president called on SCO members to increase their energy cooperation, especially since the SCO region is home to half of the world’s population when observer members are included.

The president also told the delegates that the SCO can counter the bullying of outside powers, the Mehr News Agency (MNA) correspondent reported.

Tehran-Beijing ties benefit world: Ahmadinejad

Ahmadinejad held talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Friday, discussing matters of mutual interest, especially Iran’s nuclear program.

“Iran and China have many common views on world developments,” Ahmadinejad said, adding, friendly Tehran-Beijing relations benefit not only the two countries but also the Middle East and the entire world.

Sustainable peace can only be established based on brotherly relations, he opined.

“Iran and China enjoy great potential in this regard.”

He emphasized the need to continue and deepen political consultations between the two countries, saying, “Some powers are opposed to the expansion of ties between Iran and China although it is not detrimental to any nation.”

He announced that Iran is prepared to step up cooperation with China in various areas, especially transportation, telecommunications, and energy.

Commenting on the nuclear issue, Ahmadinejad reiterated that Iran’s nuclear activities are within the framework of international obligations and treaties and only for peaceful purposes.

He also thanked Beijing for its stance on Iran’s nuclear dossier.

The Chinese president said that China and Iran have many common views and have had satisfactory political relations and economic exchanges over the past few years.

China supports Iran’s right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, Hu asserted, adding that Beijing believes that the nuclear impasse should be resolved through negotiation.

“I am sure that Iranian officials will make the correct decision on the nuclear issue based on their national interests,” he observed.

He also announced China’s readiness to play a constructive role in resolving the nuclear impasse by maintaining its close consultations with Iran.

“The two countries have had good consultations on various world issues, especially human rights and reform of the United Nations structure,” he added.

The two ancient civilizations of China and Iran should boost their cultural and individual exchanges, Hu said.

China and Iran have long had close economic ties, especially in the oil and gas fields, and are currently in negotiations over an energy deal that was tentatively inked in 2004 and could be worth more than 100 billion dollars.

As part of the initial memorandum of understanding, Sinopec, China's largest refiner, would buy 250 million tons of liquefied natural gas over 25 years, which alone could be worth more than 100 billion dollars.

China urges Iran to return to nuclear talks

Hu urged Iran to return to talks on its nuclear programs, calling the six-nation incentive package to resolve the issue a "new opportunity," Chinese state media reported.

"The proposal put forward by China, Russia, the United States and Europe has provided a new opportunity for the settlement of the issue," Xinhua news agency quoted Hu as telling Ahmadinejad.

"We hope the Iranian side will earnestly study (the proposal), positively respond and seek an earlier resumption of the nuclear talks."

Ahmadinejad reiterated that all Iranian nuclear programs were peaceful and that Iran was not seeking to develop nuclear weapons, Xinhua said.

"The EU's proposal is better than before and has provided new opportunities for the resumption of talks," Xinhua quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

Iran-Russia regional security cooperation

Iranian president and Russian president held discussions on matters of mutual interest. Ahmadinejad called Iran-Russia political and security cooperation to strengthen regional stability effective, adding, “Certain countries do not want to admit the significant roles of Iran and Russia in enhancing peace and security in the region and are attempting to influence regional issues to further their own interests.”

Iran and Russia share common views on many international issues, and Iran is determined to have long-term relations with Russia in all spheres, he noted.

Putin said that Russia supports Iran’s peaceful nuclear program and will fulfill all its commitments to Iran, despite the international pressure.

“We believe that diplomatic dialogue is the only solution to Iran’s nuclear dispute,” Putin stated, adding that Moscow is prepared to cooperate on Tehran’s nuclear plans for the future.

He went on to say that Russia appreciates Iran’s efforts to establish balance in the region, citing Tehran’s assistance in resolving internal problems in Iraq and Afghanistan as examples.

Ahmadinejad says Russia, China agree on many issues

Iran, China and Russia agree on many issues, Ahmadinejad said, after holding talks with the leaders of both countries.

"We cannot speak about the details of our discussions," Ahmadinejad told reporters as he held talks with the two heavyweight presidents.

"Our views and positions on many issues are close or even identical."

Ahmadinejad, Musharraf discuss ties

Ahmadinejad stressed the need for the expansion of bilateral ties with Pakistan on Thursday.

“The way is paved for the development of Iran-Pakistan mutual relations in the economic, cultural, and political spheres,” Ahmadinejad told Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf on the sidelines of the summit.

He also expressed hope that the finalization of the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project would enhance bilateral economic ties.

Musharraf described Tehran-Islamabad relations as good. He said Pakistan is interested in expanding ties with Iran and called for expediting the finalization of the IPI project, which is also known as the Peace Pipeline.

Pakistan is prepared to cooperate with Iran in the areas of security and intelligence in order to increase border security, Musharraf added. Iran and Pakistan should increase their cooperation in the campaign against terrorism and boost security on their shared border, Ahmadinejad said.

“We view Pakistan as a friendly country and believe the ground is paved in many ways for cultural, economic, and political cooperation.”

The Iranian president emphasized Iran’s inalienable right to access peaceful nuclear energy, noting that Iran has fully cooperated with the International Atomic Energy Agency on the nuclear issue and is always ready to hold fair negotiations.

Iran prioritizes ties with Kazakhstan

Ahmadinejad stressed on Thursday that expansion of bilateral ties with Kazakhstan is on the agenda of Iran’s foreign policy.

“Iran and Kazakhstan have great potential to strengthen mutual ties especially in the fields of agriculture, trade, oil, transit, and gas,” Ahmadinejad told Kazakh President Nur Sultan Nazarbayev on the sidelines of the meeting.

He also said Tehran supports Almaty’s policies in combating drugs smuggling, terrorism, and organized crimes.

The two presidents also discussed the Caspian Sea issues.

“Iran believes that Caspian Sea littoral states should promote the security of this region without the interference of foreign powers,” he added.

Nazarbayev said that Kazakhstan is ready to step up its cooperation with Iran.

Kazakhstan supports Tehran’s right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, he added.

He also announced his country’s readiness to transfer oil and gas to global markets through Iran.

“Sanctions” should be removed from political vocabulary: Ahmadinejad

The word “sanctions” should be removed from the political vocabulary, President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said on Friday in reference to Western threats to take UN Security Council action against Iran over its nuclear program.

“We do not see a dead end in Iran’s nuclear dispute because we are moving forward using negotiations and wisdom, and if everyone obeys the law, there will be no problem,” he told reporters at a new conference in Shanghai.

“We believe that the word ‘sanctions’ should be removed from the political vocabulary and that sanctions should not be used as a threat or instrument of power,” Ahmadinejad added.

The Iranian president said the offer from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany was a "step forward".

Iran considering nuclear package

“I have asked the (Iranian) officials to seriously study the offer, and we will definitely give our response, based on our national interests, in due time,” he explained.

Commenting on Iran’s conditions for negotiations on the nuclear standoff, he said, “We prefer talks to tension under any circumstances, and we welcome the fact that our friends (the EU) who had stopped the talks have returned to the negotiating table.

“We do not seek nuclear weapons. The experience of Hiroshima is not far from us, which has disturbed the entire history of humanity.”

Ahmadinejad stated that Iran and China are longtime friends with many common views and extensive relations and interests which consult each other on key global issues.

Ahmadinejad calls for impartial inquiry into Holocaust

Ahmadinejad said there needed to be an independent investigation into the Holocaust.

"Historical events need to be presently investigated by independent and impartial parties," he said, referring to the Holocaust.

"If it is true then this question should not be solved in Palestine," he said referring to the bitter, decades-old conflict that has its roots in the partition of Palestine and the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

He insisted that the "problem was not the Jews", but the "Zionists, which have hidden behind Judaism".

He also said there were "no differences" between Jews, Christians and Muslims when asked about the Holocaust.

"All of them have their dignity and right to be respected."

Zionism was a movement that began in the 19th century. Many Zionists were survivors of the Holocaust and helped found Israel.

Iran capable of defending itself

Iran has the ability to defend itself, the president said when asked about Israel's nuclear capability.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran has developed the capability to defend itself," he noted.