Russia doubts Iran’s commitment to nuclear deal
Moscow hits back at Ahmadinejad’s unprecedented attack on Russia over sanctions.
First Published 2010-05-27
‘There are no 100 percent guarantees’
Russia doubts Iran’s commitment to nuclear deal
Moscow hits back at Ahmadinejad’s unprecedented attack on Russia over sanctions.
MOSCOW – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov voiced doubt on Thursday about whether Iran would fulfill the terms of a deal brokered by Brazil and Turkey aimed at resolving the Iranian nuclear crisis.
“There are no 100 percent guarantees. Very much will depend on how Iran will approach its commitments. If it strictly abides by them, Russia will actively support the scheme proposed by Brazil and Turkey,” Lavrov said.
Signed last week, the deal calls for Iran to deposit a large part of its uranium stockpile in Turkey in exchange for better-enriched nuclear fuel destined for a research reactor in Tehran.
“We welcome this deal. If fully implemented, it will create very important preconditions not just for the solution of the concrete problem — supplies of fuel for this reactor — but for improving the atmosphere for the renewal of negotiations,” Lavrov said in televised remarks.
But Lavrov gave no indication of how the deal might affect Russia’s stance on a US-drafted resolution in the UN Security Council calling for Iran to be punished with a new round of sanctions.
Russia has continued to back the sanctions resolution despite the signing of the Brazil-Turkey deal, angering Iran and leading to a heated exchange this week between Russian and Iranian officials.
The deal, spearheaded by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was seen as a last-ditch bid to avoid the new UN sanctions.
But it was received coolly by the US, who accuses Tehran of seeking to acquire an atomic bomb under the guise of its civilian nuclear energy programme.
Tehran denies the allegations and insists that its nuclear programme is strictly for energy and medical purposes.
Russia on Wednesday accused Iran of indulging in “political demagoguery” after an unprecedented attack from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Ahmadinejad on Wednesday bluntly accused Russian President Dmitry Medvedev of siding with Tehran’s enemies, like arch-foe the United States, in the crisis over the Iranian nuclear drive.
“Any unpredictability, political extremism, lack of transparency or inconsistency in decision-making… is unacceptable for Russia”, the Kremlin’s top foreign policy advisor Sergei Prikhodko said in response.
“No one has ever managed to retain their authority through political demagoguery,” Prikhodko added in a statement released by state news agencies.
Despite its strong energy and defence ties with Iran, Russia has backed a new sanctions drive at the UN Security Council which has issued repeated ultimatums for Iran to freeze uranium enrichment.
“Our position is Russian, it reflects the interests of all the peoples of Russia and thus it is neither pro-American nor pro-Iranian,” said Prikhodko.
Russia is building Iran’s first nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr, a facility expected to finally come online in August after a series of delays.
It also has a contract to sell sophisticated S-300 air defence missiles to Tehran but has not delivered the weapons amid concerns from Israel and the United States that they could severely impede an air attack.
Western diplomats have suggested that under the text of the resolution against Iran being discussed at the UN Security Council Russia would be unable to deliver the S-300 missiles to Tehran.
Russian lawmakers have disputed this view but this week Tehran’s envoy to Moscow sternly warned Russia its credibility would be undermined if it dropped the deal.
“Refusal to deliver the S-300s will strike a blow to Russia’s reputation as a reliable arms supplier,” Ambassador Mahmoud Reza Sadjadi said.
“It would compel us to question Russia’s reliability at such sensitive moments.”
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