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Russia says no reasons to suspect Iran's nuclear aspirations

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Moscow has no reasons to suspect Iran in secret attempts to develop nuclear weapons, Russia's prime minister said in an interview with French daily Le Monde released on Saturday.
MOSCOW, May 31 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow has no reasons to suspect Iran in secret attempts to develop nuclear weapons, Russia's prime minister said in an interview with French daily Le Monde released on Saturday.

Tehran rejected on Tuesday the UN nuclear watchdog's new report on the country's controversial nuclear program, saying concerns over alleged nuclear weapons research are ungrounded and reiterated that Iran's right to uranium enrichment is non-negotiable.

"I do not think the Iranians are seeking to develop a nuclear bomb," Vladimir Putin said. "We have no reasons to think so."

"Formally, from a legal standpoint, Iran has so far not violated anything," he said. "It even has the right to uranium enrichment."

The Russian premier said the only question remaining to Tehran was why Iran had not presented the International Atomic Energy Agency with a full report on all its nuclear programs from the very beginning.

The diplomatic standoff between Iran and the West began almost six years ago over suspicions that Tehran was secretly developing atomic weapons. Tehran has always maintained that it needs nuclear technology for electricity generation only.

Putin said Iran was situated in an extremely volatile region of the world and called upon Iranian leadership to make concrete steps to convince the international community that the country "does not covet any secret aspirations."

Iran has so far defied three rounds of relatively mild United Nations Security Council sanctions over its nuclear program.

Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana is expected to visit Iran in the near future to offer the Islamic Republic a package of new incentives in order to persuade Tehran to halt its nuclear programs.

The U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany already proposed to Tehran in June 2006 cooperation in civilian nuclear technology, trade and other spheres in exchange for a full suspension of uranium enrichment.

The Islamic Republic has rejected the 2006 incentives. It has also defied three rounds of relatively mild UN Security Council sanctions imposed over its refusal to halt nuclear-related activities.

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