Disarmament Documentation

'[W]e do not see grounds for handing over this issue from the IAEA to other bodies', Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov on Iran and the IAEA, October 15, 2005

Transcript of Remarks and Replies to Media Questions by Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov Following Talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Moscow, October 15, 2005.

Question: What will the position of Russia be should the question of Iran's nuclear program be referred to the UN Security Council?

Foreign Minister Lavrov: We think the present situation allows us to continue to work actively on the Iranian nuclear dossier through the IAEA. Inspectors from the IAEA are in Iran on a permanent basis. They report to the IAEA Board of Governors on the progress they reach. With the present situation continuing, we do not see grounds for handing over this issue from the IAEA to other bodies.

I shall stress the necessity for Iran's further cooperation in good faith with the IAEA, as the questions that have arisen in the world community about the Iranian nuclear program must be clarified. And, as we have said more than once, under no circumstances should the nuclear nonproliferation regime be violated by Iran.

Question: Does Iran have a right to enrich uranium?

Foreign Minister Lavrov: Under the NPT Treaty and statutory IAEA documents, all the parties to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons have that right.

Source: Russian Embassy to the United States, http://www.russianembassy.org.

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