ANSWERS
BY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS,
SERGEY LAVROV,
TO QUESTIONS FROM
THE ARGUMENTY I FAKTY WEEKLY
RUSSIAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
April 13, 2005
Excerpts
Unofficial translation from Russian
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Question: President Bush does not rule out the use of force against Iran. Iran looks to us for protection. Will Russia "dump" it, like it did Iraq, or will it face up to America?
Foreign Minister Lavrov: The key participants in the talks on settling the Iran nuclear problem favor a political solution to it, and there are real opportunities for this. Three European states - France, Britain and Germany - have reached agreement with Iran on freezing the uranium enrichment program and on continued close cooperation between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency. We support this accord because we ourselves are engaged in parallel and closely coordinated contacts with the Troika and with Iran. So, I would rather not discuss, even hypothetically, a situation when someone would decide to use force.
Of late an informal mechanism of coordination of moves between the Europeans, Russia and the US has been taking shape, and we welcome Washington's movement in this direction. On the one hand, it marks the recognition that there is no alternative to multi-polar diplomacy (at a minimum, in the context of Iran, but it is the first step that is important, especially since Iraq, Afghanistan and, indeed, Kosovo, require a similar approach). On the other hand, it attests to the responsibility of the key powers for ensuring compliance with the regime of non-proliferation of mass destruction weapons. I can assure you that Russia's position on the issue is as firm as anyone's.
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