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EU, RF agree Iran should comply with NPT protocol

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Luxembourg, March 1, Itar-Tass/ACSNA/IRNA -- The EU and Russia are 
convinced that Iran should comply with the protocol to the 
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean 
Asselborn said. 
Speaking at a press conference on Monday on the results of the 
talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the Luxembourg 
minister whose country holds the rotating EU presidency said Lavrov 
briefed European colleagues on an agreement signed by Russia and Iran.
He said Russia welcomes the EU talks with Iran that are being held
by Britain, Germany and France in order to get strict guarantees of 
the nuclear non-proliferation. 
Lavrov said Russia and the EU agreed to join efforts aimed at 
solving Iran`s problem. 
Russia and the EU `confirmed an importance of coordinating efforts
aimed at settling the situation around Iran`. 
The Russian minister revealed `the commonness of Russia`s and the 
EU approaches towards ensuring a peaceful resolution on Iran`s nuclear
program`. 
At the same time, he stressed, "We want the United States to help 
us achieve a common goal." 
Lavrov describes Russian-Iranian nuclear cooperation as 
transparent. 
Russia `maintains good cooperation with the EU troika to confirm 
the peaceful nature of Iran`s nuclear program`. 
Russian-Iranian nuclear cooperation is transparent and responds to
the IAEA standards, the Russian minister stressed. In his words, 
Russia `lauds US President George W. Bush`s statement on the peaceful 
settlement of the situation in Iran`. 
"The European Commission knows well that Russian-Iranian nuclear 
cooperation is transparent and is supervised by the IAEA." 
Commenting on a US senator`s proposal to exclude Russia from the 
G-8 due to its nuclear cooperation with Iran, Lavrov pointed out, 
"This is an individual view. We know that this is not a position of 
the US Administration." 
EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy 
(CFSP) Javier Solana noted the coincidence of views on the existing 
problems. Despite the fact that there are disagreements on certain 
issues, both sides have common positions on the major problems, Solana
said. 
He said the sides exchanged views on the international conference 
on financial aid to Palestine to open in London on March 1. In his 
words, the sides also discussed the situation on the Balkans, Iraq, 
Moldova, Georgia and the OSCE. 
Russia expects an international forum on Palestine and the Quartet
meeting (scheduled for Tuesday) to yield concrete results. The Russian
minister called for improving `a genuine inter-Arab dialogue in Iraq 
so that all groups to ok part in preparing a constitution and 
conducting new general elections till the end of the year`. 
Lavrov described his talks with the EU troika as `fruitful and 
constructive`. "We noted progress in the four common spaces. In the 
fields of economy and external security we understand ways to solve 
problems. The four roadmap (humanitarian one) is practically ready. We
also agreed to step up the work on internal security." 
The Russian minister said he is hopeful that discussions on this 
issue would be fruitful at the upcoming March meeting. 
Lavrov noted, "Russia ratified the Kyoto Protocol and a document 
on expanding the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. We agreed to 
discuss obligations in human rights, primarily the rights of ethnic 
minorities. We rivet much attention to this problem. We consented to 
step up efforts to create a special mechanism related to the 
Kaliningrad problem, including transit." 
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