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Russia Throws Support Behind E-3 On Iran
Same cast of folks that enabled Saddam, how curious
Russia on Friday threw its backing behind a European initiative to persuade Iran to give up any nuclear technology that could be used for military purposes, and joined France in urging the United States to join the effort. The unprecedented public show of unity on the issue followed a string of reports suggesting that the United States had hardened its stance on Tehran's atomic program and might be contemplating military action, a suggestion that the Bush administration has not denied outright.

Following two days of talks in the Russian capital, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his French counterpart, Michel Barnier, stressed in unison that the only way to reach a reliable agreement with Iran was through the political dialogue that France, Britain and Germany launched 16 months ago. Both ministers also made clear that in order to succeed the initiative needed more active support from the United States. "We are working in parallel to the Europeans, we are backing their efforts," Lavrov told the International Herald Tribune after a press conference Thursday night, adding that his government was in contact with Iranian officials on a regular basis.
"After all, we have contracts to protect, and that reactor we're building is quite lucrative," he added emphatically.
Barnier welcomed his host's support. "The Russians' backing is very important for us," the French minister said in an interview Friday. "Three large European countries have enough credibility to launch this dialogue, but for it to succeed we need both Russia and the United States to be behind us." Barnier and Lavrov met alone on Thursday before joining their defense ministers Friday for a meeting of their countries' Security Cooperation Council, held every six months. The issues discussed included the fight against international terrorism and the situation in the Middle East and in Iraq, but Iran appeared to dominate the agenda.
Posted by: Captain America 2005-01-23
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=54412