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US HAS NO CLAIMS AGAINST RUSSIA OVER IRAN

RIA Novosti

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Marianna Belenkaya.)

Vladimir Putin and George Bush only mentioned Iran in passing at their summit in Bratislava. The presidents evidently addressed all the necessary statements to each other prior to the summit. At the post-talks press conference, Mr. Bush only said that both sides had agreed that Iran should have no nuclear weapons.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov told the press that the US "had no claims to Russia with regard to nonproliferation in the world and in Iran in particular." Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov added, "President Bush thanked President Putin for Russia's leading role in upholding the nuclear nonproliferation regime." The American leader, he said, "recognized our approach to be absolutely correct - peaceful development of nuclear power engineering, while all commitments to the IAEA are honored, including those concerning cooperation between Russia and Iran."

This sounds surprising, particularly if we remember Mr. Bush's pre-summit comments. In an interview with the France's TV-3, he called on America's allies in Europe to forge a common position on Iran's nuclear program and to help countries like Russia understand the importance of this problem.

What changed?

In reality, Iran issue is always raised at Russia-US meetings, and the sides already know by heart the positions they set forth to each other. Criticism is good only when it is advantageous. Moreover, Washington understands only too well that Moscow, due to its geographical proximity to Iran, is far more interested than the US and Europe in ensuring that Iran does not have any nuclear weapons. Therefore, Russian diplomats have tried hard to persuade Tehran to sign the additional protocol to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Furthermore, Moscow has always insisted that the Iranians cooperate closely with the IAEA. So, Mr. Bush's gratitude to Mr. Putin for the Russian leadership's efforts to enforcethe nonproliferation of nuclear weapons represents more than a matter of words. Washington understands that the international community maintains control over Russia's cooperation with Iran in the latter's peaceful nuclear programs. If Iran is denied this cooperation, it will possibly seek other, illegal ways of developing its nuclear power engineering. It is no coincidence that Alexander Yakovenko, the Russia's Foreign Ministry's official spokesman, recalled in Bratislava that "Two mechanisms exist for monitoring Iran's commitment to all the agreements and understandings - the IAEA Board of Directors and our [Russia's] contacts with the US."

Russia's cooperation with Iran in nuclear power engineering is limited to the construction of the first 1,000-megawatt generating unit of the Bushehr nuclear power plant. IAEA General Director Muhammed El-Baradei has said that Bushehr is not a matter for international public concern, as it is a nuclear energy project for civilian purposes and an agreement has been signed on the return of spent nuclear fuel to Russia, which was signed in Tehran on Sunday.

It should also not be forgotten that nuclear energy is only a small component of Russian-Iranian trade, and economic and political interaction between them.

Mr. Putin believes that the joint work Russia and Iran are pursuing in a number of regions - the Caucasus, Afghanistan and Central Asia - is producing positive results and helps maintain global stability.

Iran is also Russia's biggest trade partner in the Middle East. Trade almost tripled between 1995 and 2001 and reached $933.5 million. Goods are delivered from Europe to the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean countries across Iran through the North-South Transport Corridor. There also are joint projects in the natural gas sphere and projects to supply Russian and Iranian electricity to third countries. Those parties that are trying to compel Moscow to end its nuclear cooperation with Iran want to tarnish its reputation as a reliable trade, economic and political partner. A refusal to continue the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant may be followed by the cancellation of other contracts and will not facilitate new ones. On top of that, Moscow will lose an ally, and this will affect Russia's relations with the Islamic World, including the Arab World.

In addition, there can be no doubt that if Russian companies leave Iran, the niche will soon be filled, including when it comes to building nuclear plants. Indeed, no one will be surprised if Europeans and Americans succeed the Russians.

However, today Moscow's concern is not a potential loss of trade contracts in Iran, but destabilization in that country. Russia hopes that US claims to Iran will not lead to a conflict like the one in Iraq, and that chaos will not come close to Russia's borders. At the very least, it is trying to prevent this.