Russia may support reasonable sanctions on Iran: spokesman

Russia does not rule out the possibility of imposing reasonable sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Thursday.

Spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said Russia always wanted to continue dialogue to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem despite the little progress that has been achieved until now. But if the stalemate continues, Russia may support imposing additional pressure to Iran through sanctions.

Nesterenko stressed that such sanctions must be directed exclusively on the resolution of non-proliferation issues and not at the financial and economic suffocation of Iran.

Speaking of Iran's first nuclear plant which Russia is helping build in Bushehr, the spokesman said the U.S. government needn't worry about it.

That's because, Nesterenko said, the project has been established for over 10 years and hasn't affected Russia's agreements on the previous three sanctions against Iran.

The West accuses Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian program, but Iran insists its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.

Russia, which has long said it prefers to resolve the issue through diplomatic means, is showing growing frustration with Iran's refusal to cooperate with the international community.

Source: Xinhua