MOSCOW, January 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's foreign minister urged the world Tuesday to take a cautious approach to resolving the dispute around Iran's nuclear programs, while announcing that a delegation from the Islamic Republic would arrive in Moscow in February for talks and reiterating an offer that could go some way to allaying global concerns.
With some countries pushing for the matter to be referred to the UN Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions if Iran is found to be in breach of its international commitments, Sergei Lavrov suggested this might not be the best approach to the problem.
"Sanctions are not the best or the only way of resolving international problems," Lavrov said, adding that the international community remembered only too well where sanctions against Iraq had led.
He said experts from the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, needed as much information as possible to answer the questions regarding Iran's nuclear programs and he called on Iran, which abandoned a two-year moratorium on research into uranium enrichment last week, to help the international community.
"Iran should do much more than it has done and our common efforts should aim for a solution that provides answers to all the questions," Lavrov said.
Iran has consistently stated that it wants to acquire the technology only for peaceful purposes, but calls have mounted for the UN to impose sanctions on the country after it ended its two-year moratorium on nuclear research.
The Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions have been the subject of particular attention since hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected president last year. His call for Israel to be "wiped from the face of the map" was roundly condemned and sparked fresh fears that the research could be used in a secret weapons program. It also raised the specter of military action, as Israel destroyed a nuclear facility in Iraq in connection with similar fears in an air strike in 1981. Iran's three main research facilities are located in Natanz, 1,700km (1,000 miles) from the Israeli border. Although U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice condemned Tehran's "dangerous defiance of the entire international community" on January 12, she said Washington had no plans "at this point" for any military intervention.
Russia, which is building an $800-million nuclear power plant in the southwest of the country and has other commercial contracts, has consistently defended Iran's right to develop peaceful nuclear energy but is coming under increased pressure from other nations to change its position. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, it could veto any attempt to impose sanctions on Iran, but in recent days Moscow has expressed its "disappointment" over Tehran's decision to resume research, which may indicate that its position is slowly changing.
The minister said an Iranian delegation would arrive in Moscow on February 16 for talks and reiterated that a proposal to enrich Iranian uranium on Russian territory remained on the table. Many have seen the offer as a compromise with the potential to diffuse the current stand-off.
"The initiative to set up a joint venture to enrich [uranium] in Russia for any form of cooperation in the civilian energy remains on the negotiating table," he said. "The Iranian side has expressed its willingness to consider this proposal."
Nevertheless, Lavrov indicated that Russia wanted to press ahead with its construction of a reactor in the port town of Bushehr, 400 kilometers (250 miles) from Tehran, but did say that project was "entirely consistent" with the two countries' commitments to the IAEA and stressed that non-proliferation was of paramount importance.
"Our absolute priority is to ensure nuclear non-proliferation," he said.
Lavrov also said Russia supported Iran's intention to resume talks with the European trio of France, Germany and Britain, but only after Tehran reinstated the nuclear research moratorium.
"I expect that our Iranian friends will listen to calls from the international community and will not abandon the moratorium agreed through the International Atomic Energy Agency," he added.
Continuing the cautious tone that has dominated statements from the country's officials in the last few days, the minister said Russia would avoid taking any actions that could escalate the tension around Iran's nuclear program.
"We intend to proceed without any sudden moves," Lavrov said, echoing President Vladimir Putin's warnings after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel Monday that any further steps regarding Iran should be extremely cautious to avoid any exacerbating of the issue.
According to Lavrov, Russia will be prepared for an emergency session of IAEA's 35-member Board of Governors, chaired by Nobel laureate Mohammed ElBaradei, which could be convened February 2-3.
He said deputy foreign ministers of the European trio, the U.S., China and Russia had "expressed serious concern over Tehran's decision to resume uranium enrichment, despite the international community's objections," after meeting in London on Monday.
The IAEA meeting could set a final date for referring Iran's "nuclear file" to the UN.
