US fails to derail Iran-Russia arms deal

press tv
Sat, 07 Mar 2009 11:32:36 GMT

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaking at the joint press
conference, Geneva, Mar. 6
The Russian foreign minister disappoints US hopes by clarifying that
its military cooperation with Iran complies with international law.

"These issues … are decided exclusively within the law and Russian
national regulations¦ We are supplying non-destabilizing, defensive
weapons," Sergei Lavrov said following a meeting with his US
counterpart Hillary Clinton in Geneva.

"We fully take into account concerns voiced by our US and Israeli
partners and favor intensification of work on proposals made by the
5-plus-one group, which include … the start of equal talks with Iran
and other regional states to ensure common security," he added.

Prior to the Friday meeting, the US Secretary of State had said that
she would ask Sergei Lavrov to halt the transfer of long-range missiles
from Russia to Iran.

These sales pose ‘a threat to Russia as well as to Europe and neighbors
in the region’, Clinton claimed on Thursday.

During the Iranian defense minister’s February visit to Moscow, Russian
media reported that Tehran had sought to purchase sophisticated
surface-to-air S-300 missiles to counter a potential Israeli air strike
on its nuclear facilities.

This is while Washington and Moscow are at loggerheads over US plans to
deploy 10 long-range missile interceptors in Poland and a radar site in
the Czech Republic.

The White House says the plan is aimed to counter threats from
countries such as Iran, but the Kremlin strongly rejects that notion,
insisting that the so called shield aims to undermine Russia’s national
security.

Reports, which were later on rejected by both sides, said last week
that US President Barack Obama had sent a letter to Russian counterpart
Dmitry Medvedev, offering to drop the European missile shield plan in
exchange for Russian help to halt Iran’s nuclear activities.

On Wednesday, Medvedev said that Moscow had received no such offer, but
if it had the response would be that would reconsider its own missile
plans if Washington did the same.

During the Geneva meeting, however, Lavrov and Clinton said that the
two sides would start work on a security agreement, as they begin a new
chapter in their relations.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress