Peaceful talks, not sanctions solution to Iran's nuclear issue - Putin
18:22 09/06/2010 MOSCOW, June 9 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Prime Minster Vladimir Putin said peaceful talks, not sanctions, are the best way to resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear program.
In an interview with France 2 TV and Agence France Presse on the eve of his visit to France, Putin compared Iran's nuclear program to North Korea's.
"Sanctions against North Korea are now in place but the program is still being developed. Moreover, at a certain point North Korea's leadership announced it had nuclear weapons. So what? What are all these sanctions worth?" he asked.
"However, when in the six-party format we managed to come to an agreement with North Korea and ensure its interests, first of all, in the economic sphere, we did make considerable headway," he said.
Putin noted that North Korea had in fact agreed to stop pursuing nuclear weapons.
He argued the North Korean case had clearly shown that "peaceful agreements, which take into account the views of all sides, are possible even in such a difficult and sensitive sphere as the proliferation of nuclear weapons."
The prime minister said armed aggression against Iran was out of the question.
"I think it would lead to an enormous tragedy without any positive solution to the problem that we seek to resolve... The consequences brought about by the radicalization of the Islamic world and destabilization in the region would be catastrophic."
He emphasized that Russia's position on Iran's problem had not undergone "any significant changes."
"We are ready to seek a solution to Iran's nuclear problem together with the international community. We will continue to move along this path and call on the Iranian leadership to assume a position that would remove international concern around its nuclear program," he said.
Putin commented on the recent proposal by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that the United States, Russia and France should send more monitors to Iran.
"I repeat, we should not impose anything on the Iranian side. It is necessary to agree with it on this issue," he said.
However, the prime minister said the new transparency measures would prove successful, as Tehran itself is looking to make its program as transparent as possible.
Putin brushed off Iran's strong reaction to Russian backing for UN sanctions.
"The Iranian leadership is defending its position. I see nothing out of the ordinary here," he said.
International pressure on Iran increased in early February when Tehran announced it had begun enriching uranium to 20% in lieu of an agreement on an exchange that would provide it with fuel for a research reactor.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that Tehran would end all discussions over its nuclear program if the United Nations Security Council imposed new sanctions against Iran.
He added that a recent Brazil-Turkey-Iran deal on the exchange of Iranian low-enriched uranium for highly enriched uranium was the last chance for the West to reach an agreement with Iran on its nuclear program.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
