Russia says Iran's security concerns legitimate

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118040§ionid=351020104


As the US is lobbying with the West to impose a fresh round of sanctions on Iran's nuclear program, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov calls on Western states to take Iran's security concerns seriously.

"Iran has legitimate security concerns. There is no doubt about them because Iran has been attacked by other countries in recent history but has never attacked another country," the Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Lavrov as speaking at the Munich security conference.

He called on the international community to find a "technical and diplomatic solution" to the proposed nuclear fuel swap with Tehran.

Last month, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council — China, Russia, France, Britain and the US — plus Germany (P5+1) met in New York but failed to agree on a new round of sanctions as Russia and China called for patience and restraint in dealing with Iran.

Since then the US has been lobbying veto-wielding China and Russia to consent to more sanctions against Iran, which is already under three rounds of UNSC sanctions over its nuclear work.

The US and its allies accuse Tehran of pursuing military ends through its nuclear energy program. Iran denies the allegation, saying that it needs nuclear energy to produce electricity to meet the country's growing demand.

The agreement proposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would see Iran ship its low-enriched uranium abroad for further processing. The fuel would then be returned for use in the Tehran medical reactor, which produces treatments for cancer.

Lavrov underlined that Iran's nuclear standoff with the West cannot be resolved without plans to tackle crises in the Middle East including Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon.