Ukraine's new president to visit Brussels on Mar 1, Moscow on Mar 5.

KIEV, February 26 (Itar-Tass) -- Ukraine's new president, Viktor
Yanukovich, will pay a visit to Brussels on March 1, the chief of the
presidential staff, Anna German, told the media on Thursday.

"On March 1 there will be a visit to Brussels, and on March 5, to
Moscow. That is the routine working schedule, so I would advise against
looking for any symbols here," German said.
Asked if Pyotr Poroshenko had any chances of retaining his post of
foreign minister, German replied, "We have seen Poroshenko in action, he
was very effective. The president will wait and see how he works and he
will make conclusions afterwards."

.Russia, US may sign START before May conference - analyst.

MOSCOW, February 26 (Itar-Tass) -- A new strategic arms reduction
treaty may be signed before the beginning of the May conference on
disarmament in New York, if Russia and the United States manage to
eliminate the remaining differences by then, the deputy director of the
Institute of US and Canada Studies, Pavel Zolotaryov, told Itar-Tass on
Thursday.
"The fundamental nature of this new treaty has been agreed on, there
are no more such questions," Zolotarev said, adding that "certain traces
of stubbornness remain on both sides."
"The Americans are concerned over how the treaty will go through the
Senate," he explained. "When the senators vote for this or that treaty,
they think about their electorate first and foremost."
Zolotarev warns that in such cases it does not matter whether the
strategic arms reduction treaty benefits the United States or not.
About a link between START and the anti-ballistic missile defense
issue he said that "this link is present in the content of a future
treaty."
"The restriction on the warheads is not to be set below fifteen
hundred pieces," he recalled. "The missile defense aspect is taken into
account, of course. Russia has stated quite clearly that as long as there
is no clarity regarding the Untied States' future missile defenses, any
further cuts are out of the question."
About the likely dates when the treaty might be signed Zolotarev said
that "everything will depend on the will of the Russian and US presidents."
"If Moscow and Washington settle their differences on the fundamental
issues, the treaty may be signed before the May conference on disarmament
in New York," the analyst believes. "Otherwise the conclusion of the
treaty may be postponed indefinitely."
Earlier, a source in the Kremlin told Itar-Tass the signing of the
strategic arms reduction treaty might take place in some third country,
probably, the Czech Republic.
"Moscow does not reject this option," the official said. "The Russian
presidential staff believes that the treaty may be signed in some third
country."
The official did not specify where exactly the ceremony might take
place.

.Iran has right to enrich uranium as any non-nuclear state - Lavrov.

MOSCOW, February 26 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia has no doubts that Iran has
the same right to enrich uranium as any other non-nuclear signatory to the
nuclear arms non-proliferation treaty, and it is opposed to any measures
that might worsen the humanitarian situation in that country, Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian mass media on Thursday.
He said Russia was against sanctions that might harm that country,
although it did not rule out the UN Security Council might decide to
impose them in retaliation for the Iranian leadership's reluctance to
cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency more closely.
"It is our profound conviction sanctions as such can hardly bring
about the desired effect in any case. Therefore, should such proposals be
submitted to the UN Security Council, we shall take a look very
attentively at what specifically is on the agenda," the Voice of Russia
radio station quotes Lavrov as saying.
"If sanctions pursue certain aims that go beyond the bounds of the
task of preventing violation of the non-proliferation regimen, then there
will be complications to further work. We do not wish to see some other
aims to be pursued on the pretext of preventing the non-proliferation
regimen from being abused, including measures that might greatly worsen
the humanitarian situation and the position of the population. That would
run counter to the approaches that there exist in the UN Security
Council," Lavrov said.
The chief Russian diplomat said Russia had no doubts "Iran is entitled
to the same rights as all other signatories to the nuclear arms
non-proliferation treaty, including the right to the enrichment of
uranium."
"To ensure there are no hindrances to this right Iran must honor the
liabilities these rights imply. In this particular case it must provide
satisfactory answers to the questions the IAEA has regarding the issues
remaining on the negotiating table."
"If there is no progress in this sphere, and in a situation where the
Iranian leadership in no way responds to a number of constructive,
compromise agreements proposed to it, including supplies of fuel for
Teheran's research reactor I do not rule out that the Security Council
will be forced to consider this issue again," Lavrov said.
He added that Iran was already liable to certain sanctions the UN
Security Council introduced in support of the demands the IAEA addressed
Iran with in accordance with Iran's liabilities under the nuclear arms
non-proliferation treaty.
"Those sanctions are in no way linked with the suspicion Iran may have
nuclear arms. There are no proofs Iran has made a decision to create
nuclear arms," he explained.
"The IAEA in its reports regularly informs that organization's board
of governors that all nuclear materials existing in Iran are under the
agency's control and that the agency continues to monitor all activity,
including uranium's enrichment to the fuel-grade level," he added.

-0-str