MOSCOW, February 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russia attaches
great importance to U.S. intentions for direct talks with Iran
and believes they could unlock the standoff over Tehran's
nuclear program, the Russian foreign minister said on Wednesday.
"We particularly attach great importance to the intention
of the new administration in Washington to begin a direct
dialogue with Iran," Sergei Lavrov said at a news conference in
Moscow.
U.S. President Barack Obama said at a White House press
conference on Monday that his administration was in the process
of evaluating the country's policy toward Iran and would look
at the possibility of using "direct diplomacy" with the Iranian
government.
Russia's top diplomat said the new approach could be a
major factor in resolving the international dispute over Iran's
nuclear program.
"Considering the fresh approach that is shaping in regard
to Iran, we hope that the United States will be able to make a
more effective contribution to the resolution of this issue
than in recent years," Lavrov said.
Iran is currently under three sets of relatively mild
sanctions over its controversial nuclear program, which it
insists is purely civilian but the West, led by the United
States and Israel, maintains is aimed at developing nuclear
weapons.
In late January, Obama called both the Iranian people and
Persian civilization "great." However, he also said that, "Iran
has acted in ways that's not conducive to peace and prosperity
in the region."
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