Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that there is a chance of the renewal of six-sided talks on the Iranian nuclear program. Russia is concerned over threats of a military operation against Iran and is doing all it can to prevent such a scenario, the minister said.
Lavrov emphasized that sanctions against Iran to weaken its economy and attempts to augment tensions among the population have nothing to do with the regime of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
The US and a set of other Western states accuse Iran of developing nuclear arms on the background of peaceful atom. Tehran denies all accusations and insists that the nuclear program is to fulfill demands for electricity. The UN Security Council passed resolution 1737, 1747, 1803 and 1929 against Iran.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed in early January 2012 that Iran had started enrichment of uranium to 20% at the Fordu facility. The European Union postponed meeting of foreign ministers from January 30 to January 23, 2012, to discuss an embargo on oil imports from Iran.
