Russia, Iran begin nuclear talks, EU warns Teheran

TEHERAN - Russia and Iran began talks on Teheran’s disputed nuclear programme on Saturday, said an Iranian official who gave no indication that Iran would satisfy EU demands and let Moscow produce its atomic fuel.

“The Russian delegation arrived in Teheran last night and began talks with Iranian officials this morning,” Hossein Entezami, spokesman of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), was quoted as saying by state television.

“The two sides are going to discuss Russia’s proposal for joint uranium enrichment, the scale of this, and also enrichment on Iranian soil,” he added.

Russia is helping Iran build a nuclear power station at the Gulf port of Bushehr and supports Iran’s drive to build more nuclear power stations in future.

Javad Vaeedi, the deputy head of the SNSC, said late last year that agreeing to talks with Russia did not mean Iran had abandoned its drive to enrich uranium on its own soil.

The European Union told Iran on Saturday this was unreasonable and would jeopardise future talks. “Resumption of activities and such disregard for the repeated wishes of the IAEA Board of Governors can only seriously jeopardise the possibility of a return to negotiations,” the current EU president, Austria, said in a statement.