MOSCOW, March 13 (RIA Novosti) - A senior member of Russia's lower house of parliament said Monday that no country had grounds to defend Iran's nuclear ambitions.
"There are no grounds for anyone, including Russia, to defend Iran's position," Konstantin Kosachev said. "We should discuss an appropriate plan of coordinated action for the international community."
Kosachev said economic sanctions against Iran, which many countries suspect of seeking to build nuclear weapons under the cover of civilian research, would be a proper response.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) referred the Iranian "nuclear file" to the UN Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions and other punitive measures if Tehran is found in breach of its international obligations.
Kosachev said it was not Moscow's problem that Iran had turned down a Russian proposal to enrich uranium on Russian soil for use in the Mideast country, a proposal designed to allay fears that the Islamic Republic might use nuclear fuel for weapons production.
"Russia was the only country that made constructive proposals, rather than pressurizing Iran," he said.
Iran announced Sunday that it was no longer considering the Russian initiative, and intended to carry out large-scale enrichment on its own soil.
"The Russian proposal is not on the agenda any more," an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Iran has technically not violated the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which stipulates countries' rights to a civilian nuclear program and which allowed Russia to advance its proposals, Kosachev said.
Russia's initiatives, including the creation of a network of international uranium enrichment centers to give countries access to nuclear technology for peaceful means, are designed to compensate for shortcomings in the NPT, he said.
"This proposal remains valid and must be implemented irrespective of how the Iranian problem is resolved," he said.
Kosachev regretted that Tehran had turned down the only realistic proposal made so far, adding that the issue would be discussed in the Security Council in a "different manner".
However, the head of Russia's nuclear agency said Monday that the proposal remained valid on condition that Iran adhered to the demands put forward by the IAEA, the UN's nuclear watchdog, and re-imposed a moratorium on uranium enrichment.
"Our proposal remains in force, but only as part of a comprehensive approach," Sergei Kiriyenko said.
