Russia urges Iran to actively cooperate with the IAEA

Iran should improve its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s spokeswoman says.

“On the subject of sanctions, Russia’s position remains unchanged. Russia still believes that Iran should more actively and broadly cooperate with the IAEA and other countries,” spokeswoman Natalia Timakova told reporters on Tuesday.

“If these obligations are not fulfilled, no one can exclude the application of sanctions,” AFP quoted Timakova as saying.

She stated that Medvedev also outlined Moscow’s position on Iran’s nuclear program to the Israeli prime minister, who was in Moscow on Tuesday to try to persuade Russia to support a new UN resolution imposing sanctions on Iran.

However, Russian officials previously announced that Moscow believes a military strike on Iran would be a big mistake and the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program should be resolved through diplomacy.