Moscow: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday sought political and diplomatic efforts to resolve the nuclear issue of Iran, as Premier Vladimir Putin announced commission Bushehr nuclear power plant there.
After his talks with visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last evening, where the Iran nuclear issue figured, Lavrov said the dispute could still be resolved through diplomacy.
"We discussed Iran`s nuclear program. We have the same objectives as our American partners - not to allow violations of the nuclear weapons non-proliferation regime, to eliminate the concerns about Iran`s nuclear activity and to provide for full cooperation between Iran and the IAEA," Lavrov said at a joint press conference with Hillary.
He said any possible sanctions against Iran must be aimed solely at preventing any violation of nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), of which Tehran is a signatory.
"These demands (of sanctions) are aimed at achieving one goal, namely: not to allow any violation of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.”
This was the only purpose of the sanctions issued previously against Iran by the United Nations Security Council. And any new discussion of Iran in the UN SC should stick to this criterion," Lavrov underscored. He said that so far the UNSC has not started discussions on new sanctions against Iran.
"I`m sure we have the potential for further joint political and diplomatic efforts in this direction," Lavrov added.
Earlier on Thursday, Putin said the Russia-built Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran will be commissioned this summer. Moscow upholds Tehran`s right to access civilian nuclear energy as a signatory of NPT.
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