LONDON, October 6 (RIA Novosti) - Unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States against countries cooperating with Iran might keep Iran-6 from finding common decisions on Iran's nuclear problem, Russia's foreign minister said Friday.
On October 1, President George W. Bush signed Iran Freedom Support Act, which extended sanctions against countries maintaining energy cooperation with Iran and supplying weapons to the Islamic Republic.
"This will not help find decisions that could compel Iran to seek a compromise," Sergei Lavrov said in London, which is hosting negotiations between the six mediators on Iran: France, Germany, the United States, Russia, China and Britain
The U.S. has pressed for sanctions against Iran, which some countries suspect of pursuing a weapons program under the cover of peaceful nuclear re search, though Tehran has consistently denied the allegation saying it needs nuclear energy for electricity. Russia and China, who hold vetoes on the UN Security Council, have said they oppose sanctions.
"If the U.S., by imposing unilateral sanctions, is trying to set the tone for discussion within Iran-6, then we absolutely cannot agree with this," he said. "This does not correspond to the previously coordinated criteria."
He said extra measures against the Islamic Republic must not mean punishment for Iran or its isolation, but they should be gradual and commensurate with the real threat to the nuclear non-proliferation threat which Iran posed. And he said it is up to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog, to determine what threat Iran represents.
Lavrov said measures that are to be considered could induce Iran to meet IAEA demands approved by the UN Security Council.
The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1696 July 31, demanding that Iran suspend uranium enrichment by August 31 or face possible economic and diplomatic sanctions. However, an IAEA report said Tehran had refused to suspend the program and had blocked IAEA inspectors from inspecting Iran's nuclear facilities.
The Iran-6 worked out a package of initiatives to persuade Iran to stop enrichment, but has received no definite reply.
Russia is a country that has invested heavily in Iran's energy. It is building a nuclear power plant at Bushehr, 250 miles southwest of Tehran, under a $1 billion contract signed in 1995. The plant is to be commissioned in November 2007.
Russia is also supplying Iran with air defense systems. At the end of 2005, Russia signed a $700-million contract on supplies of 29 Tor M1 air defense systems to Iran. Despite strong criticism from the United States, Russia has maintained that the systems could be used only to protect Iranian air space.
Lavrov said the U.S. measures were irrelevant to the current problem.
