MOSCOW, March 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russia considers a joint uranium enrichment venture with Iran impossible if the Iranian side fails to comply with IAEA demands, a Russian negotiator said Saturday.
"The IAEA demands include Iran's resumption of moratorium on uranium enrichment and ratification of an additional protocol to the Nonproliferation Treaty," the official said.
"Since Iran has failed to reach agreement with the IAEA, Russia considers the creation of a joint venture impossible," he said.
Commenting on Turkey's proposal that a joint enrichment venture be created in Turkey, the Russian representative said that "the absurdity of this proposal is obvious to experts in the field."
"Turkey does not have the necessary nuclear-fuel cycle technology, while hypothetical transfer of uranium enrichment technology to the country (Turkey) from its NATO partners would be a direct violation of the nonproliferation regime. So there is no point in taking this proposal seriously," the official said.
