IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei's report on Iran's implementation of the Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA was considered on March 8 in Vienna in the course of a regular session of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency. At the end of the debate a statement of the Chairman of the Board was adopted, summing up the debate's outcome.

Most delegations expressed serious concern over the fact that despite certain positive moments in the Agency's investigation of past Iranian activities in the nuclear field, the IAEA is still unable to state the absence in Iran of undeclared nuclear activities.

It is important that the Board of Governors confirmed the necessity to continue the work to find a solution to the Iran problem within the IAEA as the sole competent organization capable of performing the function of verifying compliance by states with their obligations under the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). In accordance with the IAEA Board of Governors' February resolution the report of the Director General will be sent to the UN Security Council.

We urge Iran to most seriously consider the outcome of the Board of Governors meeting and to ensure full cooperation with the IAEA. The framework of the cooperation is determined by the resolutions of the Board of Governors of the Agency, its Statute and the requirements of the NPT, which guarantee the right of access to nuclear energy's blessings on the condition of full compliance with the nonproliferation obligations of states. If this is fulfilled, then we are certain that solutions can be found which would guarantee Teheran the realization of its lawful right to peaceful utilization of nuclear energy. Our offer to set up a joint venture in Russia for securing the lawful interests of Iran in nuclear power development can also help in this.

Where Russia as a member of the IAEA and its Board of Governors is concerned, we will continue to be ready to help a positive development of the situation.