Russia is opposed to unilateral sanctions against Iran and urges action based on UN resolutions, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.
“We are against any forcible action bypassing the UN Security Council - be it Iran, Cuba or any other sovereign UN member nation,” he said.
Failure to observe UN Security Council resolutions is unacceptable, he warned.
Earlier in the day Iranian Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili said Tehran is hoping that the international community will finally recognize its right for nuclear technologies and uranium enrichment for peaceful purposes.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has a good potential for cooperation in the area of disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation and this potential should be realized,” Jalili said in an interview with Russia Today television. “We expect that Iran’s right for nuclear technologies, including uranium enrichment, will be officially recognized and respected."
Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week Moscow supports Iran’s right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy and is in constant contact with Tehran on nuclear issues.
Western nations and Israel are seeking to persuade Iran to give up its uranium enrichment program, which they suspect is aimed at producing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is merely designed to generate energy.
Tehran said last Wednesday failure to draft an agenda for the upcoming nuclear talks in Moscow was not conducive to their success.
Russia is hosting the third round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program June 18-19.
The United States has warned it will tighten sanctions against Iran if the Moscow negotiations fail to make progress on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.
