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LAVROV AGAINST MILITARY SOLUTION TO IRAN PROBLEM(Interfax News Agency Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)MOSCOW. April 12 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he is opposed to using force to resolve the controversy surrounding Iran's nuclear program. "I am convinced that a military solution to this problem does not exist. Nearly all European countries share Russia's opinion on the matter," Lavrov told a briefing in Moscow on Wednesday. "Even if such plans are being contemplated, which can be judged from some media reports, they will fail to solve the problem. On thecontrary, they would create an extremely dangerous and explosive hotbed in the Middle East which abounds in hotbeds already," Lavrov said. "All the parties involved in the talks, including the European Troika, Russia, the U.S. and China have said repeatedly, including in joint statements, that the Iranian nuclear problem needs a political- diplomatic solution," he said. "This was recently confirmed by U.S. President George W. Bush, as well, and we are being guided by this. We will make efforts to settlethe problem within this format and in the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Our position is well known to Iran. I hope Tehran will meet this position halfway," said Lavrov. The Russian foreign minister said the Iranian nuclear problem should not be exaggerated. "Iran has never declared it wants to acquire nuclear weapons. The Iranian president has said on many occasions that Iran has no plans of this kind and that it wants to develop its nuclear energy technology exclusively for peaceful purposes," Lavrov said. |