Nuclear deal with Iran must not set undesirable precedents - Ryabkov

MOSCOW, June 1. /TASS/. Russia hopes a nuclear deal between the six world powers and Iran will be reached by June 30, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Monday. "We expect a full-fledged agreement, which will become an important milestone in the history of the nuclear non-proliferation regime, to be signed by the June 30 deadline," Ryabkov said, speaking at the Federation Council. "It’s gratifying that the negotiations are based on the principles of gradual and reciprocal approach suggested by Russia, recognition of Iran’s right to peaceful use of nuclear energy, including the right to enrich uranium under strict and effective international control." "We will continue to exert the necessary efforts to reach the desired result," he said. "The prospective agreement must rely on universally recognized norms of international law and mechanisms to guarantee IAEA’s activities without setting undesirable precedents." "The confidence of the NPT member-countries in IAEA guarantees is a key factor in the stability of the whole nuclear non-proliferation system," Ryabkov noted. "Confidence has always been based on the objectivity of the IAEA mechanism to verify non-proliferation obligations, its technical feasibility and political impartiality." "The IAEA safeguards system must meet these requirements in the future as well," he said. "We are working to rule out the introduction into it of any political of subjective elements." Ryabkov added that the Iranian nuclear issue could only be resolved by political and diplomatic means. Read more