RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER URGES IRAN TO MEET IAEA REQUIREMENTS

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DUSHANBE, October 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russia urges Iran to see to it that IAEA have no concern about its nuclear program.

"The IAEA would like to see more gestures intended to strengthen confidence in the Iranian nuclear program, and Iran should make these gestures," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on Sunday.

Mr. Lavrov has been accompanying Russian President Vladimir Putin in the latter's visit to China and now is with the President in Tajikistan.

According to Mr. Lavrov, what Iran should do is ratify the Additional Protocol on IAEA Guarantees, though the country already complies with its provisions as though the protocol had been ratified. Iran signed it in spring but has not so far had it ratified by Majles and signed by its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hoseini Khamenei. Mr. Lavrov also urged Iran to enforce the moratorium on enrichment of uranium.

As to the construction of a nuclear power plant in Bushehr, according to the Russian Foreign Minister, this project "is not an IAEA concern, and therefore Russia will go on in cooperating with Iran in [constructing] the site."

The Russian minister noted that what all the parties to the nuclear power plant project have yet to do is sign protocols on the supplies of the Russian-made nuclear fuel to Iran and on the return of the nuclear waste back to Russia.

Meanwhile, a team of IAEA experts finished their visit to Iran and headed for Vienna to prepare a report on the Iranian nuclear programs.

"A delegation of Agency experts, headed by deputy director Pierre Goldschmidt, which arrived a week ago, has finished its job in Iran and departed to prepare a report on the nuclear programs of the Republic of Iran," the Iranian radio reported on Sunday.

IAEA experts positively appraised their on-site inspections and talks with Iranian officials and said that each time they came to Iran they were witnessing progress in resolving disputes around Iran's nuclear program and clearing the uncertainties.

The week's job of the IAEA team was to clear up two basic issues - where the traces of enriched uranium found at centrifuges Iran had imported come from, and what the Iranian P-2 centrifuge production project is really about.

Now the IAEA experts will prepare a report on the state of nuclear activities in Iran for the session of the IAEA Board of Governors scheduled for November 25 in Vienna. Despite the U.S., Israel, and the EU's concerns, so far Iran's nuclear program has not revealed any signs of a hidden military component.

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