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No Iran sanctions without 'concrete' proof: Russia Russia on Friday ruled out talk of sanctions against Iran without proof that Tehran is seeking nuclear weapons as alleged by the United States, and vowed to continue military cooperation with the Islamic republic. "Sanctions can be discussed only when there are concrete facts showing that Tehran's nuclear activity is not exclusively peaceful," Russian foreign ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin told reporters. "At the present time, the concerns of the international community over the Iranian nuclear program cannot be eased through sanctions and use of force," Kamynin said, adding: "Russia's position remains unchanged." Nikolai Spassky, deputy secretary of the national security council, said efforts were under way to get answers to questions about Iran's nuclear ambitions but Russia so far saw no reason to freeze its military contracts with Tehran. "There are no circumstances that raise obstacles to fulfillment of our obligations in military technical cooperation with Iran," Spassky was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying. "This means fulfilling all obligations, including obligations on delivery to Iran of the Tor-M1 air defense system," Spassky said. He stated that Russia's proposal to enrich uranium on Russian territory for use as nuclear fuel in Iran remained on the table and described it as a means of "assisting" Iran in developing nuclear power for as long as it took for international verification of its nuclear program. "At the end of this period, Iran can return to its full rights in the nuclear energy sphere," Spassky said. Iran however "must fulfill a range of additional obligations" during the time that international verification of its nuclear program is under way, he said, adding that Russia believed it was still possible to resolve the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program through diplomacy. "Even now there is still a chance, a normal, solid chance, for a peaceful diplomatic resolution of the Iranian nuclear problem," Spassky said. Russia, which is helping Iran build its first nuclear power station, has consistently maintained that only the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) can verify whether Tehran's nuclear program is confined strictly to civilian purposes. IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei is to tell the UN Security Council next Friday whether his agency can make that verification with certainty. The United States accuses Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under cover of its civilian nuclear program, a charge Iran denies. ---------------------------------------------------
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