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Russian president, UN head have similar stances on Iran’s nuclear program

"The Secretary-General has consistently declared that Iran must prove to the international community that its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful," Martin Nesirky said

Russian President Vladimir Putin and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon EPA/ANATOLY MALTSEV

Russian President Vladimir Putin and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

© EPA/ANATOLY MALTSEV

UNITED NATIONS, December 13. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approach to the settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue is not fundamentally different from the position of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General’s spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters on Thursday, commenting on Vladimir Putin’s annual state-of-the-nation address to both houses of parliament.

“The Secretary-General has consistently declared that Iran must prove to the international community that its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful and that under relevant international agreements peaceful uses of nuclear energy are certainly permissible,” he said.

“In this regard I do not think there is a big difference between the statements of President Putin and the Secretary-General on that score,” the UN spokesman said.

Martin Nesirky said that Ban Ki-moon welcomed the interim agreement reached between Tehran and six world powers (five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany, P5+1). However, he stressed the need to achieve “comprehensive arrangements and a final agreement” on Iran’s nuclear program, which would take into account the interests of all parties. “The work in this direction continues, including with the Russian Federation and other members of the P5+1,” he stressed.

Vladimir Putin said in his address that “it is necessary to continue a patient search for a broader solution that would secure Iran’s inalienable right to develop peaceful nuclear energy and ensure security of all countries in the region, including Israel.”

China’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Liu Jieyi told Itar-Tass on Thursday that the position of the Russian president conformed to the key principle of the Iranian nuclear issue settlement, which formed the basis of negotiations with Tehran in the ‘sextet’ format. The diplomat said that Putin’s statement “was made in line with this very important principle.

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