Much to be done yet to solve Iran nuclear problem - Putin

MOSCOW, February 9. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday he is contented with the way the settlement of the Iranian nuclear problem is proceeding but added that much needs yet to be done to solve it. When asked what measures Russia takes to settle the problem over the Iranian nuclear program, Putin said: "I can say with no exaggeration that Russia makes a significant contribution to the settlement of the situation around the Iranian nuclear program." "Our position is based on a belief that Iran has a right to peaceful nuclear activity including uranium enrichment, naturally under control of the IAEA," he said in an interview with Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram on the eve of his visit to Cairo. "It was not an easy task to convince our partners from the P5+1 to agree with this approach. At first, we continuously asked all the parties involved to sit down at the negotiating table and start a serious discussion of the ways to resolve this problem," Putin said. "We tried to convince them that there was no alternative to the political and diplomatic settlement. Then, we proposed a conceptual framework to advance along this way - the principles of the stage-by-stage movement and reciprocity. And such an approach was supported by all the participants in the process," he said. "The negotiations are well under way now. Substantial progress has been made. However, we have not managed yet to produce a final comprehensive solution either regarding the Iranian nuclear program itself or the prospects of lifting the sanctions," Putin said. "We expect the efforts in this field to be continued. The crucial point is that nobody should try to derive unilateral benefit from the situation or to bargain out more than what is needed for a balanced and just resolution of this complicated issue," he said. The P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and France plus Germany) and Tehran have agreed to extend the deadline for an agreement in the talks on Iran’s nuclear program to June 30. Iran says it needs nuclear power to generate electricity, but Western powers led by the United States claim Iran’s eventual aim is to create nuclear weapons. Read more