Putin supports Iran's nuclear programme

FE Team | Published: October 18, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

TEHRAN, Oct 17 (AFP): Russian President Vladimir Putin left Iran overnight Wednesday after a trip which saw him reinforce ties with the Islamic republic and distance himself from Western warnings over its nuclear programme.
He warned the West not to launch an attack over the Iranian nuclear programme, insisted Iran's Russian-built first nuclear power plant would be finished on schedule and backed its right to nuclear energy.
Putin attended a summit of Caspian Sea states and held talks with top Iranian leaders in the first visit by a Kremlin chief since World War II-a boost for Iran at a time of increasing Western pressure.
The president left Iran around midnight (2130 GMT) after an exhausting one day visit that lasted around 16 hours and included talks with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and supreme leader Ali Khamenei, Iranian news agencies reported.
A joint statement issued by the Iranian presidency emphasised "the closeness of Russian and Iranian positions over the key world questions and the development of cooperation to establish a world order that is more just."
The language was a marked contrast from the West's stance over the Iranian nuclear programme. The United States and allies like France accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons and want to impose more UN and unilateral sanctions.
Iran however insists its nuclear programme is peaceful while Russia has said there is no evidence to back the Western claims.
Ahmadinejad and Putin in their joint statement emphasised "the necessity of solving as quickly as possible the situation over the Iranian nuclear programme through politics and diplomacy."
They also reaffirmed Russia's commitment to finishing Iran's first nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr "in line with the agreed calendar" although Putin complained about its "worn-out equipment".
It also said that Russia and Iran would speed up their discussions for the sale and construction of Tupolev 214 and 334 aircraft to Iran and spoke of increased cooperation in energy and aerospace.
Amid continued questions over whether the United States will attack Iran to end its nuclear defiance, Putin gave a clear signal that military action was not the way to solve problems.
"It is important... that we not only do not use any kind of force but also do not even think about the possibility of using force," he told his fellow Caspian Sea leaders gathered for the summit.
Along with the presidents of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan, Putin also declared the states "would not allow their territory to be used by a third country to commit military action against one of the parties."