Monday, March 6 2006 12:47 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Seeking mutually acceptable compromise solutions to the Iran nuclear issue, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today(Mar 6,2006) said India did not favour confrontation or 'coercive' measures as these would only heighten tension in the region and beyond.

"We remain hopeful that solutions acceptable to all sideswill be found," Singh said while replying to the debate on India's vote at the IAEA on Iran's nuclear programme.

Replying in both Houses of Parliament, the Prime Minister said there can be no two opinions that Government should not take pre-determined positions or positions at the behest of other nations.

Gurudas Dasgupta, CPI, and Subrata Bose, CPI-M, as also Kharbala Swain, BJP, had contended in Lok Sabha that foreign policy should be guided by national interests and not based on the position of other countries.

"No one can dispute that it is Government's duty to take a position on such matters after a dispassionate examination of facts, keeping in mind our national interests," the Prime Minister said stressing 'Government has precisely done this'.