Beijing: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that their country would continue its support for Tehran’s atomic programme as long as it is “peaceful.”
In a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on the sidelines of a regional security summit in Beijing, the Russian President said that they always supported the right of the Iranian people to modern technologies, including the peaceful use of atomic energy.
“But I want to emphasise that it is peaceful that we are talking about. You know our position,” the president added.
The West believes Iran is trying to develop an atomic bomb under cover of a civilian programme but Tehran insists its intentions are purely peaceful, and and the situation has brought about a shaky standoff.
The talks between the two leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit — the first since Putin returned to the Kremlin for a third term — come as Russia prepares to host the latest round of global talks on Iran.
The June 18 and 19 meeting between world powers and Iranian negotiators will try to find a diplomatic solution to the current standoff over Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Putin’s comments also come after leaders of the SCO’s member states issued a statement Thursday opposing any use of force in Iran, saying it could threaten global security.
The Iranian president, meanwhile, called for more cooperation between Iran and Russia as NATO “sets its sights on the east”, in a likely reference to a missile defence system currently being deployed by the Western alliance.
“Any attempts to solve the Iranian problem with force are unacceptable and could lead to unpredictable circumstances that threaten stability and security in the region and the entire world,” said the statement signed at the end of a summit.
In his talks with Putin, Ahmadinejad called for “serious and broader cooperation between Iran and Russia” due to developments “in the region and the world”.
“Iran and Russia are now on the same side of the barricades,” he told Putin.
“There are people who stand against the progress and development of both Russia and Iran. Especially considering that now, NATO has set its sights on the east,” he said.
Ahmadinejad was likely referring to a NATO defence system that is being deployed over several years to protect Europeans from the threat of ballistic missiles from countries such as Iran.
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