MOSCOW, October 25 (RIA Novosti) - Cooperation on building new nuclear facilities in Iran was not on the agenda of Monday's talks in Moscow between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, the ministry's official spokesman said Tuesday.
Mikhail Kamynin made the comment in response to a reporter's question about whether the two ministers had discussed the issue in light of the Iranian parliament's expected adoption of a resolution on the construction of 20 new nuclear reactors.
The Lavrov-Mottaki talks focused on Iran's disputed nuclear program. The ministers called for all related issues to be handled through the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), rather than the UN Security Council.
"Our common position is that it is necessary to continue settling all the questions that arise through the IAEA, and in this way, to look for a mutually acceptable decision that on the one hand will secure Iran's rights concerning the peaceful use of atomic energy and, on the other hand, will not leave any doubts as to the peaceful nature of such activity," Lavrov said following the talks.
Russia and Iran are currently cooperating in the construction of an $800-million nuclear reactor in the Iranian city of Bushehr, which is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2006.
