No Russian Assistance for Iran's Missile Program
IRNA 02 August 1998
Russian Ambassador to Tehran Konstantin Shiuvalo said here Saturday that so far his country has rendered no assistance to Iran to develop its missile program, adding that it will not offer such assistance in future. Speaking to IRNA, Shiuvalo pointed to the U.S. sanctions on seven Russian firms and said Moscow was awaiting Washington's official clarification of the issue.
As for the Caspian Sea legal regime, the Russian ambassador said Russia's stance was the just division of Caspian seabed resources and those beneath it on the basis of a consensus among neighboring littoral states. Meanwhile, he added, Moscow seeks continuation of shared exploitation of water and biological resources of the sea for a free shipping, fishing and preservation of environment while observing agreements already reached among the littoral states. Drawing a comparison between stands adopted by Iran and Russia on the sea, he said there are more shared views than differences between the two countries. The Russian ambassador said that the two countries believe that issues pertaining to the legal regime of the Caspian Sea should be solved through consensus among five littoral states. Both Moscow and Tehran believe that no country except the littoral states has the right to determine the fate of the land-locked sea, or to mediate in the issue, he said. He stressed that emphasis on the implementation of 1921 and 1940 agreements until formulation of the new legal regime, objection to transfer of pipeline on the seabed and call for a speedy conclusion of an agreement on biological resources of the sea are among stances shared by Moscow and Tehran. Shiuvalo said Russia has proposed that a session of the special working group be held in Moscow in early September at deputy foreign ministerial level of the littoral countries to discuss the Caspian Sea legal regime.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
