MOSCOW, March 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday he would attend the upcoming European Union meeting on the Iranian nuclear issue in Berlin.
The meeting of the EU trio (Great Britain, France and Germany), set for March 30, will address the situation surrounding the Iran's controversial nuclear plans. The talks are the first on the issue since the UN Security Council, which has the power to impose economic sanctions and other punitive measures, delayed its session slated for March 21, when it was expected to adopt a statement on Iran's nuclear file. A major divide remains between the veto-wielding Security Council members on the issue.
Russia's initiative to produce enriched uranium - a vital component in nuclear weapons - for Iran's civilian nuclear reactors is seen as a compromise in the ongoing international dispute over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.
Tehran, which has repeatedly denied Western accusations that it plans to build nuclear weapons and insisted on its right to develop civilian nuclear technology at recently reopened nuclear research centers, has demanded amendments to the Russian proposal.
The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, decided earlier this month not adopt a final resolution, which means that the dossier will not be sent to the UN immediately. Instead, the Security Council will receive a report by the IAEA director general.
The United States has pressed for Iran's nuclear dossier to be sent to the UN Security Council. However, Russia, which is helping Iran build a $800-million nuclear power plant at Bushehr, and China, for which Iran is the main provider of hydrocarbons, are attempting to convince the IAEA to hold on to the Iranian dossier for at least a month.
If Iran decides to reopen discussions and resume its uranium enrichment and research moratorium, the possibility of sending the dossier to the UN will be temporarily taken off the agenda.
France, Germany and Britain have demonstrated their readiness to reach a compromise with Iran, and have also refused to offer unconditional support to the American position.
