VIENNA, June 2 (RIA Novosti) - Russia believes Iran will accept a raft of incentives drafted by six nations leading efforts to diffuse a long-running crisis around the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
Lavrov, currently in the Austrian capital for talks with his counterparts from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, said the far-reaching proposals covered three key areas, and were the result of the joint efforts of all the parties involved, including the United States, which has had no diplomatic relations with Iran since 1979.
"The range of proposals includes three spheres - Iran's nuclear program, economic and trade cooperation, and security guarantees," he said, without giving details.
"Nobody will enter into details now. Proposals should first be sent to Iran. Then we will look at the reaction of the Iranian authorities," he said. "We believe that a signal with detailed proposals to be sent to Iran in few days will be heed."
Iran has come under heavy international pressure to re-impose a moratorium on its nuclear research program, which some countries say is being used as cover to develop a nuclear bomb. The Islamic Republic has vehemently denied the allegations, and says it is interested only in nuclear power for civilian purposes.
Lavrov said the new package for Iran, agreed on in Vienna Wednesday by Russia, China, the U.S., Britain, France, and Germany was well balanced and met interests of all the parties involved.
"We believe that all the parties at the negotiating table will be able to reach decisions that
will ensure Iran's legitimate right to civilian nuclear energy and at the same time will guarantee compliance with the [international nuclear] non-proliferation regime," Lavrov said.
He said the Vienna meeting had resulted in a "very serious" proposal to resume stalled negotiations if Iran suspends uranium enrichment in compliance with decisions of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog.
Following Iran's refusal to stop uranium enrichment and the announcement by the country's president that the Islamic Republic had managed to enrich uranium to the level needed for use in nuclear power plants, the United States, France and the United Kingdom have been pushing for a new draft UN Security Council resolution providing for tough sanctions against Iran, including the use of force. Russia and China say the issue should be resolved through diplomacy and have called for the IAEA to play the main role.
The Islamic Republic says it is enriching uranium for use in nuclear power plants to generate electricity, and that it has the right to do so under international treaties.
