Tehran, 27 Jan. (AKI) - Iran's chief nuclear negotiator said Friday that a compromise proposal by Russia - allowing Tehran to enrich uranium on Russian soil - was not enough to meet Tehran's energy needs. Speaking to reporters on his return from a visit to China, Ali Larijani said "Russia's initiative should be more comprehensive" and needed to be "discussed and improved”. The US and the European Union are pressing to have Iran's case referred to the UN Security Council and a board meeting of the UN's atomic watchdog will debate this next week.Regarding the Russian proposal, Larijani said its "capacity is not sufficient for Iran's nuclear technology. It can be part of a package and taken into consideration within it." Iran says it only wants nuclear technology to generate electricity, not make weapons. Iran has said it plans to build as many as 20 nuclear power reactors, generating 20 GW of electricity over the next two decades. It has still not completed its first reactor, being built with Russian assistance in Bushehr. "It cannot be said that it is a negative proposal. We therefore considered it worthy of studying, and worthy of completion," Larijani said.
| "Could take years of study, and many, many luncheons." |