A top Kremlin diplomat warned against threatening Iran with sanctions or the
use of force, saying that would only aggravate the international standoff over
Tehran's suspect nuclear program, Russian media reports said Saturday.
Escorted by his
bodyguards Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 2nd right, and Iranian
Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh, 2nd left, visit from the Tehran's Oil,
Gas, Petrochemical Show, in Tehran on Friday, April. 21,
2006.[AP] |
Rather than getting Iran to stop uranium enrichment, a tougher stance could
result in Tehran's total refusal to cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog
agency, said Oleg Ozerov, deputy director of the Foreign Ministry's Middle East
and North Africa Department, according to ITAR-Tass.
"We firmly stand today for resolving the problems in and around Tehran
diplomatically rather than militarily. Increasing international pressure on Iran
has no prospects," Ozerov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
The United States and European allies are pushing for sanctions because of
Iran's refusal to suspend its enrichment program, as demanded by the U.N.
Security Council. They suspect Iran is trying to develop atomic weapons in
violation of its treaty commitments.
The Iranian regime insists the program has only the peaceful purpose of
generating electricity. Russia, which has close ties with Iran and is building
that nation's first nuclear power plant, opposes sanctions.
Despite what U.S. and Russian officials have described as increasingly close
positions on the Iranian nuclear program in recent years, they appear far apart
heading into the Friday deadline set by the Security Council for Iran to stop
enrichment.
The United States and Britain say that if Iran doesn't meet the deadline,
they will try to get the council to make the demand compulsory, which would
raise the possibility of sanctions.
Seeking to avoid having the sanctions issue come before the council, Russian
officials argue that the International Atomic Energy Agency should take the lead
for the United Nations in trying to resolve tensions over Iran's nuclear
program.
Ozerov stressed Russia's opposition to the use of force against Iran — an
issue that got close attention in state-run Russian media after President Bush
said last week that military action could not be ruled out.
"The forceful option is extremely dangerous and not constructive," ITAR-Tass
quoted Ozerov as saying during a seminar on global security.
The report added that Ozerov also warned Iran against making belligerent
statements.
Moscow has been frustrated by Tehran's uncooperative attitude, and ITAR-Tass
said Ozerov expressed regret over the failure to reach a final agreement with
Iran on a compromise proposal to have the Iranian uranium enrichment program
operate on Russian territory.
The two nations announced a "basic agreement" in February on implementing the
plan, which would allow closer international monitoring of Iranian enrichment
program — which can produce both fuel for power-generating nuclear reactors and
the core material for atomic bombs.
Iran is prepared for more talks on the Russian proposal, Iran's IAEA envoy
said in Moscow on Friday. But Ali Asghar Soltanieh stressed that the details
were unresolved and needed much more discussion.
Iranian officials already undercut the intent of Russia's plan by insisting
that they would continue some enrichment work at home.