Russia proposed transferring Iran’s excess nuclear material to its territory as part of efforts to assist Iran and the US in reaching an agreement over the Islamic Republic’s atomic program, Interfax reported.
“We are ready to provide assistance to both Washington and Tehran, not only political assistance in the form of suggestions that could be used in the negotiating process, but also practical assistance,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Wednesday, according to the news service. “For example, through the removal of surplus nuclear material made in Iran and adapting it for the production of reactor fuel.”
US President Donald Trump said this month that Russia may take a role in negotiations with Iran after a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin amid difficulties in the talks between Tehran and Washington.
In 2015, Russia took delivery of a significant part of Iran’s enriched uranium as part of the landmark nuclear accord, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreed to by Iran, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany.
The International Atomic Energy Agency on May 31 reported that Iran’s accumulation of highly enriched uranium rose by almost 50% to 409 kilograms over the last three months, which could quickly be enriched to form the core of about 10 nuclear bombs.
Iran will suggest a framework agreement in nuclear talks with the US, a senior official said Tuesday, raising the prospect of an interim deal that could be followed by further negotiations.
Tehran is working on a fresh proposal ahead of a sixth round of talks with Washington in Oman on Sunday that “can be used as a basis for work,” Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.
Ryabkov seemed to back that idea, saying an interim arrangement is a potential solution.
“For our part, we believe that the moment has not been completely lost, and now it would be necessary to redouble efforts in order to reach — even if only a palliative and not a comprehensive — solution to the problems,” he told journalists in Sochi, Interfax said.
Iran and the US have been engaged in negotiations since April in a bid to end an acrimonious years-long standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program including through an easing of US sanctions and have so far had five rounds of talks mediated by Oman.
Last week, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticized a US proposal for a nuclear deal and called American officials “arrogant” for expecting the Islamic Republic to cease uranium enrichment.
With assistance from Patrick Sykes.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
