Moscow, March 19: Iran’s defiance over its nuclear programme means the country is missing out on a chance to start broad international dialogue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.
“It is letting an opportunity to establish dialogue with the international community slip away,” said Lavrov alongside US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The top diplomats addressed reporters following Clinton’s meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev and just before her talks with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, considered the country’s top decision-maker.
Clinton is making a two-day visit to Russia where one of her main aims is to shore up support for a Russian tougher line against Iran.
Lavrov’s comments were the latest indication of Russian frustration that Iran has failed to agree a deal with the international community to end the standoff over its nuclear programme.
Russia — a veto-wielding permanent UN Security Council member — traditionally has strong ties with Iran but Medvedev has repeatedly said sanctions against Tehran cannot be ruled out if necessary.
Clinton said Washington was now seeking support for “smart sanctions” against Tehran, a line that recalled the Kremlin’s policy that any measures against Iran needed to be intelligent and targeted.
“We pursued the diplomatic track and thought it was correct to do so,” she told reporters at Medvedev’s Barvikha residence just outside Moscow.
“We… are working very hard in the Security Council to obtain a resolution expressing the international community’s disapproval of Iranian actions and pulling together… a regime of smart sanctions as President Medvedev has referred to them.”
Medvedev called for targeted sanctions against Iran on a visit to Paris earlier this month, saying they should be “smart” and not target the civilian population.
Lavrov reiterated Russia’s traditional stance that sanctions against Tehran could be inevitable but did not make any public promises beyond that.
—Agencies