12 Apr 2010 – Medya News — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview aired Monday that while he agreed sanctions were needed to halt Iran’s nuclear drive, they should not crack down on its oil trade.
Medvedev, who will arrive in Washington later Monday for a two-day summit on nuclear security hosted by US President Barack Obama, warned that energy sanctions on Iran could lead to “humanitarian catastrophe,” despite the popularity of such measures among US lawmakers.
“If we’re talking about energy sanctions, I’ll tell you my opinion. I don’t think on that topic we have a chance to achieve a consolidated opinion of the global community on that,” Medvedev told ABC News television.
“Sanctions should not be paralyzing. They should not cause suffering.”
The successor of ex-president and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Iran’s nuclear program “is not transparent” and should be monitored carefully, however he dismissed the idea that trade or arms trade sanctions were likely to be imposed.
Medvedev is in Washington for an April 12-13 summit on nuclear safety and also stated that if world powers slap a fourth round of UN sanctions on Iran, they should be smart and effective because previous ones often have not worked.
“They should not lead to humanitarian catastrophe, where the whole Iranian community would start to hate the whole world,” Medvedev added.
Russia has consistently said that it wants to see the Iranian nuclear dispute resolved through diplomacy. However, Russia seems to be moving closer to the U.S. stance that sanctions are unavoidable.
Uranium enrichment is the sensitive process that lies at the heart of Western concerns about Iran’s nuclear program. The process can produce the fuel for nuclear reactors but in highly extended form can also make the fissile core of an atomic bomb.
Source: AFP and RIA Novasti
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