Russia rejects European-proposed sanctions against Iran

By HENRY MEYER

The Associated Press

MOSCOW -- Russia has rejected European-proposed U.N. sanctions aimed at forcing Iran to halt its suspected nuclear weapons drive, but Moscow appears to be applying its own pressure by threatening to delay a key nuclear power project.

Analysts say the Kremlin is determined not to push Iran into a corner like North Korea -- blaming tough U.S. policies for Pyongyang's recent nuclear test -- but Tehran's refusal to compromise has led to growing impatience in Moscow despite the two countries' close commercial ties.

"President Putin is angry at [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad, but he understands that it's probably too late to do anything now," said Georgy Mirsky, chief researcher at the Institute for World Economics and International Relations in Moscow.

A planned visit to Moscow by Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was abruptly postponed Wednesday, a move seen as a diplomatic snub reflecting Iranian annoyance at Russian hints of a delay to the construction of the country's first nuclear power station.

Iran, meanwhile, remained defiant, with supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saying his country would continue to acquire nuclear technology.

"The Americans open their mouth and close their eyes and say whatever they want, such as 'the world opposes enrichment,'"; Khamenei said, referring to Iran's enrichment of uranium, which the United Nations has said must cease.

'Western fabrications'

"In a glorious way, the Iranian nation -- with awareness, an informed generation and reason -- has challenged Western fabrications and will go ahead strongly," Khamenei added in his address to thousands in Semnan, 155 miles east of Tehran.

Experts say Moscow could be using its $1 billion contract to build the plant in the southern city of Bushehr as a lever of pressure on Tehran.

"Russia is not ready to support fully fledged sanctions against Iran but it is looking for ways to persuade the Iranians to be more transparent in their nuclear research activities," said Anton Khlopkov, deputy director of the Moscow-based PIR Center, which specializes in nonproliferation.

Russia, which along with China has veto power as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, has been the main obstacle to efforts by Western nations to punish Iran for its refusal to halt sensitive uranium enrichment activity.

Moscow has crossed out large sections of a U.S.-backed U.N. Security Council draft resolution proposing broad sanctions on Tehran's nuclear and missile programs, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press.

Russia's changes would weaken demands that Tehran stop working on a separate reactor that can produce plutonium and that Iran allow tougher U.N. inspections of its nuclear program. They also would delete any reference to Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant, said U.N. diplomats in Vienna, Austria, who demanded anonymity because the Russian amendments had not been officially announced.

The announcement that Mottaki's trip was postponed came after a senior Russian nuclear official said Wednesday that Russia would shortly review the timetable for completing construction of Bushehr, which already has been repeatedly delayed.

Sergei Shmatko, head of Russian state company Atomstroiexport, which is in charge of the project, said that work so far was on schedule.

He added, however, that an assessment of the targets for Bushehr to be conducted later this month "will determine the final timetable for its launch," according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.

In September, Russia agreed to ship fuel to Bushehr by March 2007 and launch the facility in September. Fuel from the plant potentially could be diverted and used to produce bombs. Iran claims its nuclear program is peaceful.

But on Tuesday an unidentified Russian nuclear industry official was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies that Russia could postpone the timetable if Iran fails to meet commitments that were not specified. According to ITAR-Tass, the official said one of the problems is that Iran has not adhered to a payment schedule.