MOSCOW, April 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russia said Friday that Moscow remained firmly opposed to sanctions or the use of force against Iran as a means to resolve the crisis over its nuclear program.
"Sanctions could only be discussed when evidence is provided that Iran is pursuing not only peaceful work in the nuclear field," Foreign Ministry official spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said.
Another senior official said there was still a chance to find a peaceful solution to the stand-off over Iran's nuclear programs, which the United States and some European countries suspect are aimed at developing nuclear weapons.
"There are chances of a peaceful solution to the Iranian problem," said Nikolai Spassky, a deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council.
"The situation is very complicated, but we are continuing to work," he said, adding that there was no such issue as sanctions for Russia.
Spassky did not rule out a visit to Iran by a Russian delegation some time soon.
He warned against hasty decisions and urged countries to wait for a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The UN nuclear watchdog will report on Iran's compliance with its non-proliferation commitments to the UN Security Council on April 28. The Security Council has the authority to impose sanctions on countries in breach of their international commitments.
Speaking in Moscow Friday, Iran's ambassador to the IAEA said Tehran was prepared to continue cooperating in full with the UN's nuclear watchdog and to clarify every aspect of its nuclear file.
"Iran intends to continue cooperating with the IAEA," Ali Asghar Soltaniyeh said. "We are ready to eliminate all the ambiguities with regard to our nuclear file."
Spassky also said that Russia would honor its military contract commitments to the Islamic Republic in full.
"There are no circumstances preventing Russia from fulfilling its military-technological commitments to Iran at the moment," he said, echoing a statement by the chief of Russia's General Staff earlier this week.
Russia is to deliver 29 Tor M1 air defense systems to Iran under a $700-million contract signed in 2005. Russia has dismissed strong criticism from the U.S., saying the systems could only be used to protect Iran's air space and that the equipment would be delivered under the control of the relevant organizations.
Tensions are mounting ahead of April 28, with the U.S. and its European allies stepping up demands for economic sanctions, while Washington has refused to rule out use of force against defiant Iran.
