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Putin tells Iran to cease enrichment
Russian President Vladimir Putin has once again urged Iran to give up its nuclear enrichment program.Speaking at a press conference following his talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah Friday, Putin pointed out that Russia had been consistent in its opposition to nuclear proliferation all along and that it would therefore like to see Iran open its uranium enrichment activity to inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other international nuclear inspectors. Nuclear proliferation can be especially dangerous in the potentially explosive region the Middle East is, President Putin said, adding that it was pointless from the military point of view and inadmissible from the humanitarian perspective. As the Chernobyl accident showed, if it gets into the environment, radioactive material may contaminate areas far away from where it has originally been released, so those who contemplate using nuclear weapons against others should have no illusions about their own immunity, the Russian leader pointed out. Nuclear ambitions of the powers are an "extremely dangerous thing," he warned. On the other hand, Putin reiterated Russia's commitment to delivering on its nuclear cooperation agreements with Iran, provided that that country uses nuclear technologies for peaceful purposes only. "The Iranian people have the right to modern technologies in all sectors," said the Russian leader. Posted by: Dan Darling 2005-04-30 |
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