Tehran, Moscow Discuss Russia's 'Step by Step' Proposal

Speaking to reporters at the end of his visit to Moscow, the minister said during talks with Russia's National Security Council Secretary, Nikolai Patrushev, Salehi referred to the step-by-step plan proposed by Russia on resolving Iran's nuclear dossier, and said Iran welcomes the move and its details will be provided by experts, Fars News reported.

In the step-by-step plan proposed by Russia, all measures should be taken simultaneously by the parties, he underlined.

Iran believes that Russia has had good-will in proposing the step-by-step plan, he said.

On Iran's nuclear program, he said Iran's nuclear program is on its normal and right track and those are the western countries that present illogical excuses in order to create problems for Iran and now seek to find a way out of the stalemate they have created, he said.

Through the plan, Russia seeks to build confidence and help remove the existing obstacles, Salehi said.

On July 13, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov proposed a new "step-by-step" approach toward Iran's nuclear program that would enable the Islamic Republic to take steps to address questions raised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

According to the proposed plan, Iran can revive negotiations to alleviate individual concerns of the IAEA about its nuclear activities and be rewarded along the way by the partial removal of sanctions.

The approach would start out with the easiest questions and move on to more complicated ones that would require a longer time for a response, according to Lavrov.

Iran says that according to the modality plan agreed by the Islamic Republic and the IAEA in 2007, the agency should close Iran's nuclear dossier since Tehran has addressed and resolved all the issues of contention.


/Trend/