 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
Russia Calls On Iran To Change Tack On Nuke Standoff
Moscow (AFP) Jan 23, 2006 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met a senior official from Iran here Monday and voiced hope that Tehran would soften its stance on its controversial nuclear program and resume negotiations to resolve international concerns over it, news agencies said. "We hope that our Iranian friends can adopt a position that will help ease tensions and resume negotiations," Lavrov said at the start of a meeting with Mekhdi Savari, a deputy foreign minister and Iran's special envoy on Caspian Sea regional security issues. Lavrov said contacts between Russia and Iran were ongoing and "intensive" and said Moscow was committed to further developing bilateral relations with the Islamic republic with a view, shared by both sides, to boosting regional security and cooperating on other issues. Those issues, he said, ranged from the situations in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East to fighting illegal drug trafficking. Lavrov's comments came as Tehran's nuclear negotiator warned in a newspaper interview published Monday that Iran would carry out uranium enrichment on an industrial scale if the debate over its nuclear program is transferred to the UN Security Council. The UN nuclear watchdog is due to hold an emergency meeting on February 2 to decide how to proceed in handling international concerns over Iran's nuclear program. Those concerns were heightened earlier this month after Iran announced it was suspending a voluntary moratorium and resuming sensitive nuclear research work. Western countries suspect Iran wants to build nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear power program, a charge Tehran denies. A week ago Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also vowed his country would not back down over sensitive nuclear work. Moscow has proposed a joint venture with Tehran to enrich uranium on Russian soil for an Iranian nuclear plant Russia is building to allay fears about Iran's program. Iran snubbed the idea but the head of Russia's atomic energy agency, Sergei Kiriyenko, said Friday that "Iranian partners", whom he did not name, were due to visit in the coming days for talks about the plan.
Source: Agence France-Presse Related Links
Indo-U.S. Pact Hits Roadblock
New Delhi (UPI) Jan 23, 2006Progress on the Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear agreement hit a roadblock as New Delhi is not prepared to put its fast-breeder program under the international nuclear watchdog, Indian analysts said Monday. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
