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PARIS — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin reaffirmed that he does not believe Iran is seeking nuclear arms, a French newspaper said Saturday.
"Nothing indicates" that Tehran is trying to use its nuclear program to develop weapons, he told Le Monde.
Russia has been a key ally to Iran in its nuclear standoff with the West, including building the country's nuclear reactor at Bushehr, but has also voted in favor of three rounds of UN Security Council sanctions against Iran for its failure to halt uranium enrichment.
Putin said his country did not want Iran to acquire nuclear arms and that he has counseled Iran to "prove" to the international community that it does not have hidden weapons plans.
But Putin said that "for the moment" Iran has broken no laws — while stressing that Russia is against Tehran's obtaining nuclear arms, Le Monde said. "We will, by all means, stop proliferation."
Asked whether he convinced French President Nicolas Sarkozy that Iran was not seeking to build a nuclear weapon, he replied, according to a Russian transcript of the interview available on the government's web site: "That wasn't one of my goals. … The president of France is no less informed than the president of Russia, even more so the former president of Russia."
Iran Gets a Nuclear Vote of Confidence
02 June 2008
The Associated Press
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