New sanctions on Iran possible if no progress: Medvedev
Moscow: New sanctions against Iran cannot be
excluded if there is no movement forward in the standoff over
its nuclear drive, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in
comments released by the Kremlin today.
In an interview with German weekly Spiegel, Medvedev
confirmed Russia was prepared to help with work in enriching
Iranian uranium if Tehran agreed to a UN-brokered plan to
break the deadlock.
"If the Iranian leadership takes a less constructive
position, then in theory anything is possible," Medvedev said
in the interview, a full transcript of which was released by
the Kremlin.
"I do not want that all this ends up with the adopting of
international sanctions because sanctions, as a rule, lead in
a complex and dangerous direction.
"But if there is no movement forward then no-one is going
to exclude such a scenario."
Russia -- a permanent veto-wielding member of the UN
Security Council -- is seen as a key player in the Iranian
nuclear crisis due to its close political and economic ties
with Tehran.
Bureau Report