Asked by a BBC correspondent whether Russia's nuclear cooperation with Iran may have any negative implications for the peace process in the Middle East, Mr. Lavrov said: "Our cooperation with Iran has nothing to do with the Mideastern settlement. It is about two things-our bilateral relations with Iran and Iran's legitimate right to its own sources of electricity." He went on to assure that cooperation between Moscow and Tehran in the nuclear field would in no way undermine the non-proliferation regime.
"The IAEA has mechanisms for monitoring everything that we do at the Bushehr nuclear power plant. The entire process is under control," Mr. Lavrov said. "We keep discussing this issue with counterparts from the U.S., France, Great Britain, and Germany. We understand each other perfectly, and they have no claims to make against us," he said.
Russia and its partners are making coordinated efforts to ensure that Iran does not pursue a nuclear weapons program and that it complies with all the resolutions adopted by the IAEA Board of Governors, the minister pointed out.
