BBC with comments by NPSGlobal

Following its previously stated posture, Brazil continued defending Iran’s right to pursue peaceful uses of nuclear energy and refused to promote sanctions for the Islamic country during Hillary Clinton’s visit to Brasilia. Brazilian posture on the matter is not a surprise, and it was followed with a call for diplomatic negotiations before setting any sanctions. The Latin American country’s posture is a key for the establishment of sanctions, since it currently holds a seat in the United Nations Security Council.

Brazil will not bow to pressure from the US to support further sanctions against Iran over its nuclear work, the country's foreign minister has said. Celso Amorim told US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Brazil wanted to see further negotiations on the issue before it would support sanctions. Clinton said that sanctions had to be passed first in order to persuade Iran to "negotiate in good faith".

The US fears Iran is developing nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. At a news conference with Clinton in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, Amorim said: "We will not simply bow down to an evolving consensus if we do not agree. "We have to think by ourselves and with our values and principles," he said.

'Door open'

Washington wants Brazil, which enjoys good ties with Iran, to support its push for a fourth round of UN sanctions against Tehran over its refusal to stop enriching uranium - a possible step to building atomic weapons.

Tehran says the uranium is being enriched to provide fuel for nuclear power reactors it envisages building. Brazil is currently a member of the UN Security Council. "I think it's only after we pass sanctions in the Security Council that Iran will negotiate in good faith," Clinton said. "The door is open for negotiations. We never slammed it shut," she said. "But we don't see anybody, even in the far-off distance, walking toward it."

Even before talks with Clinton began, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva repeated his stance that isolating Iran's leaders is counter-productive. "It is not prudent to push Iran against a wall. The prudent thing is to establish negotiations," he said. "I want for Iran the same thing as I wish for Brazil: To use the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. If Iran is in agreement with that, Iran will have Brazil's support."

President Lula said he did not want Iran to develop nuclear weapons and would raise the issue in a visit to Tehran in May.

Clinton is visiting South America at a time when there is a sense in the region that President Barack Obama's administration, distracted by so many other issues, has not lived up to expectations, says the BBC's Gary Duffy in Sao Paulo.

The US state department has said if Brazil uses its relationship with Iran to press the country to fulfill its international obligations then that would be an important step, but if it did not do that, Washington would be "disappointed".

Clinton’s South American Tour - Highlights

Hillary Clinton started her visit to the Latin American region on Monday when she attended Uruguayan President Mujica’s inauguration.

After the inauguration ceremony, the U.S. Secretary of State and the Uruguayan President had a meeting where they discussed several topics whose range varied from bilateral cooperation on science and technology, economic measures, the humanitarian situation on Haiti and Chile following the devastating earthquakes that affected both countries and the Iranian nuclear plan.

“I thank Uruguay for the peacekeepers that you send in large numbers compared to your population. I commend you for the leadership role you are playing as the chair of the Friends of Haiti group. And as you and I discussed, sir, we will be working with you in partnership on behalf of education, science and technology, business, trade, and investment”, said Clinton during a press conference.

Afterwards, the U.S. Secretary of State flew over to Buenos Aires where she met Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Although this meeting was originally going to take place in Uruguayan soil, the U.S. Officials decided on Sunday to spend the night in Buenos Aires and shorten their stay in Chile due to the seismic activity. During the meeting Kirchner and Clinton sought to establish a common agenda and discussed both countries position on the Honduras political crisis, the Haitian and Chilean situation, Argentine economic policy, the Falklands (Malvinas) conflict with Britain, the menace of terrorism, the Iranian issue and Argentina’s efforts in nonproliferation.

“We look forward to the president’s participation in the nuclear security summit hosted by President Obama in Washington in April. We discussed the threat that Iran poses to the nonproliferation goal that both of our countries are committed to pursuing” said Clinton during the press conference.

Clinton arrived in Chile on Tuesday where she was received at the airport by Michelle Bachelet, later on she met Sebastian Pineda, the country’s elect president. During her stay at Chile, Clinton offered assistance on the country’s recovery after the earthquake.

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