Here’s yet another one of many increasing signs that Russian President Vladimir Putin is smack-dab on the other side of many U.S. concerns and policies.
If Putin is an ally then perhaps we need a new definition of the word “ally.”
MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he was convinced Iran was not trying to build a nuclear weapon and that Russia would press ahead with nuclear cooperation with the Islamic Republic.
Putin’s defense of Iran, where Russia is building a nuclear power plant, comes in the face of U.S. concerns that Tehran could be using Russian know-how to covertly build a nuclear weapon.
“The latest steps by Iran convince Russia that Iran indeed does not intend to produce nuclear weapons and we will continue to develop relations in all sectors, including peaceful atomic energy,” Putin told Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Hassan Rohani.
His assurances should be a HUGE relief to Washington, European leaders and Israel…
His comments raise a key question: what would it do to the U.S.-Russian relationship if the U.S. directly or indirectly has a hand in a future attack on these facilities? Lebanon’s Daily Star notes that Putin’s prime goal in Iran is to nurture business interests, even at the expense of political nicities — which likely portends even more Russian collaboration with Iran on nuclear matters:
This is about sales of Russian high technology, not necessarily about nuclear weapons. Does Russia not have the right to sell its technology?” asks Sergei Markov, of the National Civil Council on International Affairs in Moscow. Until there is proof of systematic flouting of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Kremlin establishment thinks it can divorce business from politics. In fact, energy cooperation with the Islamic Republic will deepen. The crisis has revealed a new source of friction ahead of a Bratislava summit between Putin and U.S. President George W. Bush. Analysts here speak of a U.S.-Russian relationship constantly in need of repairs. Heavy maintenance work will be needed if the Pentagon decides to target Russian-built facilities in Iran.
Putin’s stance on Iran has been a friction point with the United States for some time. For instance, at a joint press conference with President George Bush in Russia in June 2003 Putin defended Russia’s role in buidling Iran’s first nuclear reactor. Iran’s original partner on this had been Germany, which bowed out after U.S. pressure.
“On Iran, we are against the pretext of using the nuclear program as a lever in unfair business competition against us,” said Putin, before quickly adding that Moscow would work with Washington “in order to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction everywhere, including Iran.”
UPDATE: Meanwhile, GWB is issuing assurances that the United States has no intention to attack Iran but is making it clear what the U.S. wants. He told Euopean journalists the U.S. wants diplomacy to work. This probably won’t convince some in Europe, who contend the U.S. jumped the gun in the case of Iraq. Nonetheless:
Bush says he supports Europe’s attempts to get Iran to axe its uranium enrichment program in exchange for other forms of support but added:”I believe diplomacy can work so long as the Iranians don’t divide Europe and the United States.”
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.