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Writethru: Putin urges caution on Iran, holds out hope on enrichment offer(Comtex Energy Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)MOSCOW, Jan 16, 2006 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Monday against hasty decisions in tackling the dispute over Iran's nuclear program and held out hope on Tehran accepting a Russian offer to enrich uranium for its nuclear power plant. "The Iranian nuclear problem requires a very accurate approach without rash or erroneous moves," Putin was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Putin said he discussed the issue at length with Merkel and pledged Russia would continue cooperation with Europe and the United States in promoting a solution. Russia, which is helping Iran build its first nuclear power plant in Bushehr, has proposed to enrich its uranium under a joint venture on the former Soviet republic's soil. But Iran has so far cold-shouldered the offer. "We have heard different views from our Iranian partners. One of them, expressed by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, was that Tehran does not rule out such an option," Putin said. The meeting between Putin and Merkel came as senior diplomats from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia met behind closed doors in London to discuss a response to Iran's resumption of research on uranium enrichment. Uranium enriched at low levels can fuel nuclear reactors, but if highly enriched it can be used for nuclear bombs. The United States accuses Iran of running a covert nuclear arms program. Iran, however, says its nuclear work is designed merely to meet its energy needs and insists on the right to develop a full nuclear fuel cycle. Iran removed UN seals at its Natanz nuclear research facility on Tuesday, drawing immediate international condemnation and threats of UN actions on Iran. The European Union has called for an emergency session of the International Atomic Energy Agency to vote on referring Iran to the UN Security Council to face possible economic sanctions. "Russia, Germany, our European partners, and the Untied States - - we all have very similar approaches to the Iranian problem," Putin said. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday Russia's priority task in the nuclear dispute is to prevent the violation of the nuclear non-proliferation regime. Moscow also said it might not block attempts to haul Iran before the UN Security Council. |