 |
|
The reactor in Busher
(photo: website of Radio Deutsche Welle) |
|
Cardinal changes in Russian-Iranian relations are not in view, said Aleksey Dedov, Russia's provisional Charge d'Affaires in Tehran, in an interview in the Russian daily, Nezavisimaya Gazeta. "Shortly after his election, Ahmadinejad personally confirmed the success of the Iranian leadership's strategic line towards further development of mutually beneficial and multidirectional cooperation with Russia," Dedov stated. According to him, Russian-Iranian relations reached a high level during the past several years, and are presently developing in the sphere of regional and international political collaboration, as well as in the areas of Hi-tech, education, and culture. "Moreover, a favorable political background also encourages active development of trade and economic links," Dedov declared, offering statistics: volume of trade in the last year grew by 43 per cent compared to 2003, and exceeded $2 billion. As examples of a fruitful bilateral cooperation, the Russian diplomat mentioned the nuclear reactor in Busher the telecommunications satellite "Zohre" (Venus,) and joint projects within the framework of the International Transport Corridor (ITC) "South-North".
Caspian Sea
The Russian Charge d'Affaires in Iran emphasizes that particular attention was always paid to this topic. According to him, "The events of the last decades resulted in the necessity to define a new legal regime for the Caspian Sea that had previously been regulated solely by bilateral Russian-Iranian agreements. "On the one hand, the significance of this sea as a source of energy and bio-resources' stock has grown. On the other hand, destabilization in the Southern Caucasus, in the Middle East, and in Central Asia, connected specifically to the activity of the underground terrorist international, has drawn the attention of many non-regional countries to the Caspian Sea. Now they try to influence events that are happening there," the Russian diplomat insists.
Against such a background, Russia and Iran's cooperation with other states of the Caspian region in the areas of security and maintenance of stability seems particularly important. "Moscow came forward with an initiative to create joint operational naval forces on the Caspian Sea (CASFOR) to prevent the threat of terrorism, WMD proliferation, drug traffic, and to protect the ecological interests of the region."
According to Aleksey Dedov, there is some progress towards a consensus on the legal status of the Caspian Sea. Up to 80 per cent of the Convention text is already worked out. But still there are such principal issues as "the jurisdiction of the national and fishing zones, militarization of the Caspian, transit of military and civil vessels", on which the sides do not agree.
Central Asia
| |
 |
| |
Sergey Kislyak |
"Russia views Iran solely as its regional partner, and not as a challenger," Russian Charge d'Affaires says, adding that it is not by chance that "the highest level of trustworthiness between the two states can be seen in such key issues as international security, disarmament, WMD nonproliferation, and fight against terrorism and extremism."
According to Aleksey Dedov, the economic activities of Iran in regions close to the Caspian Sea are not concurrent with Russia's activities there. He gives some examples of joint Russian-Iranian or parallel projects. One of them is the recent signing by Iran and Tajikistan of a memorandum initiating the construction of a hydroelectric power station, "Sangtude – 2," on the Vakhsh river. This contract is worth $220 million, and $180 million of this sum is provided by Iran. Russia is constructing a more powerful and expensive hydro-power station, the "Sangtude–1," on the same river.
Dedov points out that, against the background of crisis situations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and in a number of Central-Asian and South-Caucasian republics, "Iran is, in fact, an island of relative stability in tthe middle of perhaps the most unstable region in the world."
The Iranian Nuclear Program
Aleksey Dedov explains that Russia does not participate directly in the negotiations between the European 'troika' (France, Germany, UK) and Iran on this issue. "It [Russia] has its own parallel line," he says. In charge of keeping this "line," according to Dedov, is the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Russia's main "nuclear negotiator," Sergey Kislyak. He visits Tehran on a regular basis, and receives relevant Iranian delegations in Moscow. His last visit to Tehran was in May, and was a very important one, according to Dedov. Iranian-European dialogue was then close to a collapse, Iranian side declaring its readiness to resume uranium enrichment. "After very uneasy talks, we managed to make the Iranians take a more constructive position."
Russia – Iran
Russia Won the Elections in Iran
Putin's Tehran Envoy Secrets (part I)
Putin's Tehran Envoy Secrets (part II)
Putin's Tehran Envoy Secrets (part III)
Russia and the Development of the Iranian Missile Program
Caspian region
Iran to Deliver a Missile Blow to Azerbaijan
Iran Can Blow Up Azerbaijan From Within
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline starts pumping oil on May 25th
BTC pipeline will lighten the load on the Turkish straits
Central Asia
America Has Lost Kyrgyzstan
Main Page | News Page | 007 News | Print
|
