US President Barack Obama yesterday won the strongest backing yet from Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on the Iranian nuclear crisis, as the US leader warned that Tehran was “running out of time.”
Obama expressed frustration with Iran’s failure to give an answer three weeks after it received a UN-brokered offer to defuse the standoff, while Medvedev suggested that even Russian patience was now wearing thin.
“Unfortunately, so far at least, Iran has been unable to say yes [to the proposal],” Obama said after talks with Medvedev at the APEC summit in Singapore. “We now are running out of time with respect to that approach.”
Russia, which has the strongest ties with Tehran of any big power, has traditionally been unwilling to punish Iran with tough measures, but Medvedev said that Tehran risked sanctions if the crisis continued.
He said Moscow was “not completely happy about the pace” of efforts to resolve the crisis.
“In case we fail, the other options remain on the table, in order to move the process in a different direction,” Medvedev said in a reference to new UN sanctions against Tehran. “As reasonable politicians, we understand that any process should have a final point. The process of talks exists not for the pleasure of talking, but for achieving practical goals.”
Russia, like the US, is a veto-wielding UN Security Council permanent member and its support is crucial if US warnings of tough sanctions against Tehran are to carry weight.
China is another permanent council member and US officials say Iran is likely to figure in Beijing discussions this week between Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤).
Russia also has unmatched leverage as it is building Iran’s first nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr and has an as-yet unfulfilled contract to deliver advanced air defense missiles to Tehran.
Medvedev’s comments were stronger than his most recent statement on the nuclear crisis when he told the German magazine Der Spiegel earlier this month that sanctions could not be excluded.
Obama described as “fair” the proposal offered to Iran which would see states — including Russia — help Tehran to further enrich Iranian uranium for delivery to a research reactor.
Referring to sanctions, he said “we will begin to discuss and prepare for these other pathways” as Tehran could not be counted on to fulfill its international obligations.
The US president exchanged a warm handshake with Medvedev at the conclusion of the talks, their fourth meeting since Obama came to power.
“I have found, as always, President Medvedev frank, constructive and thoughtful,” Obama said.
“The reset button has worked,” he said, using an administration slogan used to symbolize the revival of US-Russian ties after years of mutual distrust under former US president George W. Bush.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from