Iran is close to having the potential to build a nuclear weapon, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Monday, in the clearest indication of Moscow alarm over Tehran's atomic drive.
Iran
is
close to having the potential to build a nuclear weapon, Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev said Monday, in the clearest indication of
Moscow
alarm
over
Tehran
's
atomic drive.
"
Iran
is
nearing the possession of the potential which in principle could be used for
the creation of a nuclear weapon," Medvedev said at a meeting with Russian
diplomats quoted by Russian news agencies.
Russia
,
traditionally a diplomatic and economic ally of the Islamic Republic, has in
the past taken a milder line against
Tehran
than
Western powers but has noticeably hardened its position in recent months.
Iran
has
over the past months been announcing steady advances in its nuclear program, in
defiance of international calls for
Tehran
to
freeze its sensitive uranium enrichment operations.
Iranian atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi Sunday said
Tehran
has
produced around 20 kilograms of 20% enriched uranium.
Medvedev said that
Iran
"is far from behaving in the best way".
Russian last month joined other world powers in approving a new set of
sanctions against
Tehran
. Medvedev
repeated his belief that sanctions often don't produce results but he said in
this case they could stimulate talks.
"Now what we need is patience and as quickly as possible to renew dialogue
with
Tehran
,"
said Medvedev.
"This is what we see as the main aim of the United Nations Security
Council resolution. And if diplomacy loses this chance then this will be a
collective failure of all the international community," he added.
Western powers accuse
Iran
of
seeking to build a nuclear bomb under the cover of a civilian nuclear energy
program, charges that are fiercely disputed by
Tehran
.
The
United States
and
its
Middle East
ally
Israel
have
never ruled out the use of military force to end
Tehran
's
defiance but
Russia
has
always insisted that the standoff should be solved diplomatically.
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