Putin Defends Russian Commercial Interests in Iran
VOA News
22 Jun 2003, 12:08 UTC
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he will not allow international concerns over Iran's nuclear program to undermine Russia's commercial interests in the country.
In an interview with BBC television's Breakfast with Frost, Mr. Putin said Moscow also has some serious questions about Iran's nuclear program. But the Russian leader says Iran is a neighbor and traditional partner with whom Moscow has developed international cooperation.
Mr. Putin's remarks came a day after Iran promised to cooperate more closely with U.N. nuclear inspectors to ease concerns that Tehran may be trying to build nuclear weapons.
On Saturday, Iran's atomic energy chief, Gholamreza Aghazadeh, expressed optimism that Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency can reach agreement on more intrusive inspections demanded by U.N. officials.
The head of the IAEA, Muhammed ElBaradei, told Reuters news agency Sunday that his experts have seen some cooperation from Tehran, but would like to see it "accelerated" and "extended." Mr. ElBaradei also said it will take a few more months to get a clear picture of Iran's nuclear program.
Iran has rejected requests from the IAEA to obtain environmental samples from a Tehran power plant, calling the request "illegal and unacceptable" and saying the Kelaye plant is not a nuclear facility.
U.N. inspectors wanted to take environmental samples at the Kelaye plant earlier this month, but were refused access.
On Friday, the I-A-E-A urged Iran to allow full access to such facilities to prove it does not have a nuclear weapons program.
Some information for this report provided by AP, Reuters and AFP.
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