Russia urges Iran to suspend uranium enrichment activities
4/12/2006 16:05
Iran should suspend its uranium enrichment activities and continue talks
with the international community, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said
yesterday.
"Iran may at least suspend the enrichment cycle at the current
working cascade of centrifuges," Ivanov said in an interview with the
Qatar-based al-Jazeera television channel, which was broadcasted on Russia's
Vesti-24 channel.
Iran should suspend enrichment activities "to continue
talks with the international community, primarily with the United Nations
Security Council and Germany, because such a format of talks already exists,"
Ivanov said.
In June, Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United
States offered a package offering incentives and multilateral talks to Iran in
exchange for a freeze on its uranium enrichment work.
Tehran has said that it
wants talks but will not suspend its nuclear work as a prerequisite.
The
United States is seeking to impose sanctions on Iran through the UN Security
Council on the grounds that Tehran is developing a nuclear-weapons program under
the garb of a civilian-use program.
Iran, however, says its nuclear program
is for peaceful purposes only.
Russia has so far remained opposed to
sanctions against Iran.
"Each country has a legitimate right to benefit from
peaceful use of nuclear energy," Ivanov said.
"At the same time, the
international community should be absolutely certain that no country, except for
members of the nuclear club, is involved or plans to get involved in any
programs that may allow it to acquire military nuclear technologies," he
said.
Russia is helping Iran build its first nuclear power plant in
Bushehr.
Ivanov added that fuel supplies to Iran would not be used for
military purposes.
Fuel deliveries will take place "under full control of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and after the fuel is spent, it will
be returned to Russia for recycling," he said. "This means that not one gram of
uranium will be stolen."
Xinhua News
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