Paris, March 02: President Dmitry Medvedev gave his clearest signal that Russia is ready to back sanctions against Tehran’s nuclear programme, but warned they must not hurt the Iranian population.
“Our appeals (for Iran) to work on a peaceful nuclear programme under the control of the international community have not borne any fruit so far,” Medvedev said yesterday, at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
“Iran is a hard topic. Unfortunately, recently we have not moved forward. On the contrary, the situation is deteriorating,” he said, following talks in Paris at the start of a two-day visit.
“If things don’t work out … Russia is ready together with our other partners to consider introducing sanctions.
These sanctions should be… smart. These sanctions should not target the civilian population.
–PTI