Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=03/11/01

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=RUSSIA / IRAN (L)

NUMBER=2-273559

BYLINE=BILL GASPERINI

DATELINE=MOSCOW

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Iranian President Mohammad Khatami is preparing to discuss regional and bi-lateral issues with officials in Moscow. Bill Gasperini reports from Moscow the Iranian leader has a full agenda for his landmark four-day visit that begins Monday.

TEXT: The visit will be the first by an Iranian leader to Russia since the 1979 Islamic revolution, and Iranian officials say the trip is a sign of warming relations between the two countries.

President Khatami will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a wide variety of issues, from trade to the situation in the Middle East.

High on the agenda will be the question of developing oil and gas reserves in the Caspian Sea region, including construction of pipelines. Both Iran and Russia oppose plans backed by Western countries to build a new oil pipeline through Turkey.

Also on the agenda will be military cooperation, a subject that has aroused controversy in the West. Last November Russia announced it was backing out of an earlier agreement to halt the sale of conventional weapons to Iran, a move that drew sharp criticism from the United States.

On a visit to Tehran last December, Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev said the arms agreement had been - buried by history. Russia has both financial and security reasons to be selling arms to Iran, and it has shrugged off U-S criticism in the matter.

Some analysts say developing closer ties with Iran is part of President Putin's plan to reassert Russian interests in areas it considers vital.

Aside from meeting with Mr. Putin, the Iranian leader is scheduled to receive an honorary doctorate from a Moscow university and visit Russia's second city, St. Petersburg. (SIGNED)

NEB/BG/ALW/RAE