Medvedev turns down US trade-off on Iran
press tv
Sat, 28 Mar 2009 15:23:00 GMT
A trade-off of nuclear cooperation with Iran and missile defense plans
is not taken seriously by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and
officials in the Kremlin. The Kremlin has ruled out the possibility of
a trade-off between nuclear cooperation with Iran and a controversial
US missile defense system.
In an exclusive interview with the BBC to be aired on Sunday, Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev suggested that he does not think his
American counterpart Barack Obama would agree to such an exchange.
Obama’s drive to reset relations with Moscow took a huge stride last
month when reports claimed that the White House might forgo the
defense shield in Eastern Europe if Moscow uses its relations with
Iran and address US concerns about Tehran’s nuclear efforts.
"As for Iran, we have full relations with that country but our
position is based on well-known UN resolutions and on the approach set
out by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), namely that
Iran’s nuclear program should be peaceful. That’s our position and we
have always told Iran that," Medvedev said.
"I don’t think you can just trade one thing for another, this is not
serious talk, but I have no doubt that we’ll discuss both issues,
missile defense and Iran’s nuclear program. I believe that President
Obama thinks the same way."
"I don’t think you can just trade one thing for another, this is not
serious talk. I believe that President Obama thinks the same way,"
Medvedev said.
For years, Washington has accused Iran, a signatory to the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), of developing nuclear weapons — a
charge roundly dismissed by the UN nuclear watchdog.
The Russia president’s remarks mark the second time the Kremlin turns
down back-channel offer by the new US administration.
"If we are talking about any "swap" [Iran for missile defense], this
is not how the question is being put. This would not be productive,"
Medvedev had said on March 3. "No one ing these issues to some kind of
trade-offs, particularly on the Iranian issue."
The US, under the rule of former President George W. Bush, devised
plans to station 10 silo-based missiles in Poland and missile-tracking
radar in the Czech Republic, to defend against a ‘threat’ allegedly
originated from Iran.
Russia, however, contends that such a system would encroach on its
national interests and undermine its nuclear deterrent.
The missile shield was the subject of fierce debate in the final
months of the Bush administration, pushing Washington-Moscow relations
to the lowest ebb since the Cold War.