(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today (Tuesday, 18 June 2013), met with Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird and made the following remarks at the start of the meeting:

 

"It is a real pleasure to welcome you again to Jerusalem.

 

Last month Canada imposed a total trade ban on Iran. Prime Minister Harper should be praised for his important leadership on this crucial issue. Today, it is imperative to continue that pressure.

We cannot delude ourselves. Wishful thinking is not a substitute for policy. The new Iranian President has been very clear. He is the author of a doctrine. You could call it 'talk and enrich', that is 'Talk and continue to enrich Uranium for nuclear weapons.' He wrote this in a book. He said that that by calming the international community Iran is able to steadily move forward in its nuclear weapons program.

 

We cannot allow Iran to play this game. We cannot let Iran ride out the clock through endless talks. Iran must comply with UN Security Council resolutions. We cannot accept anything less than:

 

1. A total cessation of all enrichment of nuclear materials at all levels.
2. The removal from Iran of all enriched nuclear material.
3. The closure of Iran's illicit nuclear facilities.

 

And until Iran meets these demands, the pressure must be stepped up. The Iranian nuclear weapons program must be stopped, period."

 

Canadian Foreign Minister Baird said: "We are obviously following the aftermath of the election very closely. There is one and only one way that the Iranian regime, the Supreme Leader and the new President, can show that they're serious, and that's by taking concrete actions. Talk is insufficient.

 

This is an opportunity for Iran to take a different path, but until they tangibly make real progress by action and not by rhetoric, we believe that it's tremendously important that freedom-loving people everywhere honor the tough sanctions that the international community, the United Nations, has imposed, and that we see a real departure, for the Iranian regime to take a different path.

 

Canada has the toughest sanctions in the world and we have no intention of changing those sanctions until the Iranian regime changes course. This is an opportunity, and we trust in the coming days and weeks we will see the beginning of a change of course from the regime in Tehran. We think that is tremendously important. But until they change course by action, the international community must stand together for strength and resolve to ensure that they do take a different path, the path that the United Nations is calling for them to do so."