Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday warned the international community against threatening Iran over its nuclear programme.
"I think that at the current stage, it is important not to make guesses about what will happen and even more important not to make threats," Lavrov said in Athens, Greece.
His comments were in response to a request for his reaction to US Defence Secreary Donald Rmsfeld's reported statement that a military option for dealing with Tehran should be kept open. Rumsfeld's remarks were published in a German newspaper interview.
Lavrov said the use of force would be possible only on the basis of the United Nations Chater.
Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak said it would be possible to create a joint venture to enrich uranium for Iran in Russia only if Tehran resumed its moratorium on enrichment activities.
"Our proposal on creating a joint enterprise remains in force," Kislyak was quoted as saying. "Its fulfillment is possible if Iran returns to the moratorium as is set out in the resolution adopted by the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency." Talks on the project were scheduled for February 16 in Moscow.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov told Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine daily that he was "still hoping for a sensible compromise that Iran would engage in for the aeof its own interests."
{{/usCountry}}Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov told Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine daily that he was "still hoping for a sensible compromise that Iran would engage in for the aeof its own interests."
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