|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
 |
    |
|
|
|||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Russia Rejects U.S. Pressure on Iran Security Council Referral
Russia rejected efforts Saturday by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to persuade Moscow to support Washington’s hard line on Iran’s nuclear program, the Washington Post reported yesterday (see GSN, Oct.14). “We think that the current situation permits us to develop this issue and to do everything possible within the means of this organization [the International Atomic Energy Agency] without referring this issue to other organizations,” Lavrov said. Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton on Friday accused Tehran developing a nuclear arms program for strategic reasons and “possibly to supply to terrorists.” “I think that the Iranians have been pursuing a nuclear weapons program for up to 18 years,” Bolton told the BBC. “They have engaged in concealment and deception and they’ve engaged in threats before” (Robin Wright, Washington Post, Oct. 16). Rice yesterday did not, however, call for referring Iran to the Security Council at the Nov. 24 IAEA board meeting, the Financial Times reported. Meeting in London, Rice and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw agreed not to set a deadline “because that’s not the way diplomacy works,” she said. “You look for movement, you look to see whether or not there are promising solutions and ideas. You look to see whether there are contacts that seem to be bearing fruit. And at a time of our choosing, we’ll push for referral,” Rice said. British and French officials do not believe there is sufficient international support for an early referral, European diplomats in Washington told the Times (Guy Dinmore, Financial Times, Oct. 17). Rice on Sunday also dismissed the possibility of direct talks between Tehran and Washington “at this point,” USA Today reported. She did not, however, rule out such talks at a later date. Iran’s ambassador to France, Sadeq Kharrazi, said his country was open to such a possibility. “Iran is not closed to the Americans,” said Kharrazi. “Iran would be open to talks, but the condition is mutual respect” (Barbara Slavin, USA Today, Oct. 17). French President Jacques Chirac and Rice agreed Friday that “the perspective of an Iran in possession of nuclear weapons is unacceptable,” a presidential spokesman told Agence France-Presse. Chirac also said that “it is necessary to continue the way of dialogue started by Germany, Britain and France in close coordination with Russia, in complete openness with the U.S., and with full respect by Iran of the Paris Accord,” the spokesman added (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Oct. 14). Iran yesterday again refused to again suspend uranium conversion despite the fact that the European Union has set that act as a condition for a resuming talks, AFP reported. “The suspension was voluntary and we are not ready to go back on our decision,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi. “There is no judicial or legal reason to send the Iranian dossier to the Security Council,” Asefi added. “Many countries have this view,” he said naming China and Russia. “You cannot use the threat of the Security Council like the sword of Damocles over the head of Iran” (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Oct. 16).
| ||||||||||
Back to top
