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Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Sunday. (AP)
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| By Associated Press March 12, 2006 |
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A senior Russian lawmaker on Sunday harshly criticized Iran for its rejection of Moscow's proposal to host its uranium enrichment program, saying the move has destroyed the only chance for a compromise in the Iranian nuclear standoff, news reports said.
Konstantin Kosachev, the head of international affairs committee of the lower house of Russian parliament, warned Tehran that its refusal to continue talks on the Russian offer could "radicalize" a planned discussion of the Iranian nuclear issue at the United Nations Security Council, the Interfax and RIA Novosti news agencies reported.
Russia's offer to enrich uranium for Iran on its soil has been backed by the United States and the European Union as a way to provide closer international oversight of the Iranian nuclear program, but talks on the proposal have stalled.
On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said Tehran would no longer consider the Russian proposal.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said Moscow would react to Tehran's move after receiving a formal notice, Interfax said.
Russia has made its enrichment offer contingent on Tehran suspending its own enrichment effort, but Iranian officials have rejected the link.
Iran insists its program is only for generating electricity, but the U.S. claims Tehran has been working to build a bomb for more than a decade. Britain and France are also skeptical of the Iranians, and the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, says it has serious questions about Iran's program.
Last week, Iran, Russia and the Europeans explored plans that essentially would allow Iran small-scale enrichment after re-imposing a freeze for an undefined period to rebuild international trust. But talks broke up without any agreement.
Kosachev, who has close connections to the Kremlin, said that Iran's rejection of the Russian initiative "would seriously radicalize the upcoming debates over the IAEA report in the U.N. Security Council, since trust in Tehran's plans and intentions has been seriously undermined."
The Iranian move can only arouse "regret and disappointment, since it destroys the last real possibility for a compromise," Kosachev was quoted as saying.
He said that Tehran apparently had used the Russian initiative only "to create an illusion of negotiations and to delay its nuclear dossier's referral to the U.N. Security Council."
At the same time, Kosachev reaffirmed that Moscow remains opposed to any international sanctions against Tehran.
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