According to Rianovosti, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, said in his speech to the State Institute of International Relations in Moscow today that the best way to influence Iran is to have its cooperation, and not attempts to isolate or resort to force regarding the Islamic Republic’s peaceful nuclear programme. His remarks on continuation of diplomatic efforts followed the provocative comments of the French and German leaders at a joint conference a day earlier in Berlin.
French President Nicholas Sarkozi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel threatened more of those illegal sanctions if Iran does not bow to the West’s demand.
The Islamic Republic has on many times declared its readiness for talks without any precondition on its peaceful nuclear programme, which it has clearly said is legitimate and non-negotiable.
Meanwhile, according to the German press on Monday senior representatives of the five self-imposed permanent members of the UN Security Council along with Germany are to meet near Frankfurt on Wednesday to discuss the next steps on Iran’s nuclear dossier.
The five permanent members are the US, Russia, Britain, France and China.