PARIS, October 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's foreign minister urged the international community Tuesday to consider Iran's legal right to peaceful nuclear programs.
"We agreed today that there is unity on the ultimate goal - nuclear nonproliferation," Sergei Lavrov said in Paris following a session of the Russian-French security council, attended by the Russian and French foreign and defense ministers.
"We should take into consideration and respond to Iran's legal interests in peaceful nuclear energy within the sphere of economic development," Lavrov said, adding that Iran should be treated as a full member of the international community in regional and global developments.
Lavrov said that although the two sides' positions were not identical, they were not completely opposite either, sharing the same direction.
The Russian minister said the sides should be guided by real facts, not suspicions. As long as no contrary facts have been discovered, the sides should "calmly and patiently support the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is conducting serious work, including inspections" in Iran.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy reaffirmed France's opposition to referring Iran to the UN Security Council and called for consideration of Russia's proposals.
The minister said the IAEA should improve communication with its partners so that everyone had the same information. He also said Russia's proposals were worth considering since it had extensive experience working with Iran.
