Russia and Iran agree on uranium enrichment

As RosBusinessConsulting reports, this statemant was made after meeting with Sergei Kiriyenko, Chairman of Russia's Federal Atomic Energy Agency, in Bushehr.

The Russian delegation thinks the creation of the joint venture could not be separated from other issues discussed at the talks. "Iranians used to have our proposal on their table, but now it's up to them," a top Russian official said commenting the situation.

However, the joint uranium enrichment program is just one element of Iran's nuclear problem, so the nuclear negotiations would continue in Moscow, Kiriyenko said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters that the two countries would continue nuclear talks until the meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors on March 6. The meeting could decide to pass Iran's nuclear dossier to the U.N. Security Council, which can impose sanctions against Iran.

Kiriyenko said that the joint uranium enrichment program in Russia was the only way to settle spoken nuclear problem. The joint venture could be launched shortly.

Iran announced its intention to resume nuclear programs on January 3, 2006. The United States and the EU suspect Iran of developing nuclear weapons under cover of peaceful atomic programs, but Tehran insists on its right to develop peaceful nuclear projects. On January 16, 2005 the Iranian Ambassador to Russia supported Russia's proposal to create a joint uranium enrichment center in Russia.