TEHRAN, February 20 (RIA Novosti) - The Iranian government said Monday that the country would seek unlimited uranium enrichment capabilities just hours before crucial talks on its controversial nuclear programs were due to open in Moscow.
"The Islamic Republic will not confine itself to limited volumes of enriched uranium," said Iranian government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham, adding that Tehran had legitimate rights to peaceful nuclear technology as a signatory to the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).
The official said that Iran would not allow other countries prevent it from developing peaceful nuclear energy.
Elham's comments came before talks in Moscow this afternoon that will focus on a Russia's proposal to set up a joint uranium enrichment venture in Russia, which are widely seen as the last chance for a compromise in the crisis around Tehran's controversial programs.
