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Putin Denies Passing Missile Technology To Iran
Munich (RIA Novosti) Feb 15, 2007 Russia has not passed missile technology to Iran, but other countries, including European, did, President Vladimir Putin said Saturday. The Islamic Republic has been under international pressure since it resumed uranium enrichment in January 2006, which some Western countries suspect is part of a covert nuclear weapons program. "I have no evidence to show that Russia, in the 1990s, helped Iran create its own missile technology. Other countries acted there. Technology was transferred through different channels. We have proof, and earlier I passed it directly to the U.S. president," Putin told the Munich Conference on Security Policy. "Technology is coming from Europe, from Asian countries. Russia has nothing to do with this," he said. The Russian leader said he shares the concerns of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, on Iran's nuclear program. Although Tehran has repeatedly claimed its program is peaceful, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution in December imposing sanctions on the country. The sanctions approved in response to Iran's nuclear ambitions banned activities involving uranium enrichment, chemical reprocessing, heavy water-based projects, and the production of nuclear weapons delivery systems. Putin said military and technical cooperation between Russia and Iran is minimal. "Russia supplied much less weaponry there than the U.S. or other countries did," he said, adding that Russia provided Iran with air defense systems with an effective range of 30 to 50 kilometers. "We did that so that Iran would not feel driven into a corner," Vladimir Putin said. Putin said Iran has no missiles that could threaten Europe. "As regards [fears that] Iran has missiles that could threaten Europe, you are wrong. Iran has missiles with a range of 1,600-1,700 km. Calculate how many kilometers it is from the Iranian border to Munich," the Russian leader said. On February 23, the IAEA is expected to file a report on Iran's nuclear progress. Russia, a key economic partner of Iran, has consistently supported the country's right to nuclear power under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and insisted that a previous, harsher draft of the resolution be revised and softened.
Source: RIA Novosti Email This Article
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