Russia expressed limited hope yesterday as Russian and Iranian officials started talks in Moscow on an offer to enrich uranium for Iran, seen as a final opportunity for the Islamic regime to avoid the threat of international sanctions over Western concerns it is developing nuclear weapons.
The Russian offer, backed by the US and Europe, represents a chance for Iran to address these concerns before a March 6 meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which could start a process leading to punishment before the UN Security Council.
"Honestly speaking, we have modest expectations, but we will make every effort to avoid an escalation of the situation and the use of force," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a government meeting chaired by President Vladimir Putin in televised comments shortly before the talks with Iran.
The negotiations led by Ali Hosseinitash, deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, and his Russian counterpart Valentin Sobolev, began at 2pm, said the press service of Russia's Security Council.
The Iranians have blown hot and cold over Moscow's initiative, under which Iran's enrichment activities would take place on Russian soil to ensure no uranium is diverted for nuclear weapons. Enrichment is a process that can produce either fuel for a nuclear reactor or material for a warhead.
The Russian foreign minister said Iran could conduct all nuclear activities on its own soil once the IAEA had lifted all concerns about the Iranian nuclear program.
Lavrov said last week that the Russian proposal is conditional on Iran giving up all enrichment activity, including small-scale efforts begun last week. The EU and the US also insist that Tehran re-impose a freeze on all enrichment.
But Hosseinitash took a tough stance ahead of the meeting. He rejected any link between the Russian plan and demands for Iran to restore a freeze on uranium enrichment, news agencies reported.
"The negotiations with Russia do not foresee any preconditions," Hosseinitash said before his departure from Tehran, according to ITAR-Tass.
He added that there was "no link between the moratorium on uranium enrichment and talks on the Russian plan" and stressed that Iran did not intend to renounce its right to conduct a full nuclear cycle.
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