Putin: I have no doubt Iran is committed to NPT

TEHRAN,June 13(MNA) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that he has no doubt that Iran is adhering to international commitments on nuclear non-proliferation, Reuters reported. “I have no doubt that Iran is adhering to the rules in this area. Because there is no proof of the opposite,” Putin, whose country is among six world powers seeking to ensure that Iran does not seek to develop nuclear weapons, told Russian state-run English-language channel RT. But he criticized Iran for rejecting a Russian offer to enrich uranium for Tehran’s nuclear program. The main bone of contention between Tehran and the West is Iran’s uranium enrichment program. Iran says all its nuclear activities are totally peaceful, and, as an International Atomic Energy Agency member and a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it has the legal right to produce nuclear fuel for its research reactors and nuclear power plants. The West suspects Iran is seeking to develop the means to produce nuclear weapons. At a press briefing on Tuesday, the White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was asked to comment on Putin’s remarks about Iran’s nuclear program and he said, “I’m not aware of the comments by the Russian President that you just relayed to me, but I would say that Iran has failed to live up to its obligations under international law, to prove that its pursuit of nuclear technology is for peaceful means. There is ample evidence to the contrary. “And we are engaged in a process with our allies to try to bring about a change in behavior by the regime in Tehran. And as part of that process, we have instituted the most stringent and broad sanctions regime in the history of the world. And that is both unilaterally and with our allies, and through the United Nations and through different means. “We have said that there remains time for Iran to choose a path of engaging with the international community and abandoning its nuclear weapons ambitions, but that that time is not unlimited. And we obviously monitor the situation very closely with our allies.”