Russia stands for partial restriction of Iran’s nuclear programme

Russia's Ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, has told reporters that while he approved of a ban on enrichment, reprocessing, and heavy-water nuclear reactors in Iran, other activities should not be restricted.

He says Friday should be used for further consideration of the UN resolution on Iran’s nuclear programme. The vote has been postponed until Saturday.

“The effort now is to make sure that this is clear in the text of the resolution,” stressed Mr Churkin, “and that the things which have nothing to do with those areas of activities, those parts of the Iran’s nuclear programme, are affected by this resolution.”

Speaking at a news conference with Canadian Foreign Minister Peter McKay, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States are supportive of the draft resolution and expressed confidence that it will be a signal that Iran is not a loyal partner.

“We are going to support a resolution that is Chapter 7 resolution and that is strong in showing Iran that the international community is not going to tolerate its defiance of the international community’s desires and the international community’s demands,” she said. “I am quite satisfied and quite certain that the resolution that will be adopted will be one that both says to Iran: you cannot defy the international community, and imposes penalties on Iran for that defiance. I just want to underscore: a Chapter 7 resolution puts Iran in some very unwelcome company in terms of the international community, in terms of the decisions that people will make about Iran as a partner in the international economy. And that, more than anything, is the importance of the resolution.”

Tehran says the new document will not force the country to stop its nuclear work. The draft resolution has gone through numerous changes in recent months, as Security Council members try to bring their positions together.

The resolution is certain to exclude any military action against Iran, but it will call for a ban on any materials which could benefit Iran’s nuclear programme. It will also urge all nations to make sure that Iranians are not trained in areas that could aid the country’s nuclear activities.

Russia and China put great effort into softening the possible punishment of the Middle East troublemaker. The latest draft resolution calls for monitoring of Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile specialists travelling abroad, instead of the initially proposed mandatory ban, and gives more time for people, whose assets will be frozen under the resolution, to show their compliance with the UN demands. The draft resolution in no way mentions Russia’s plans to complete the Bushehr power plant in the south of Iran.