Long past time to treat Russia as the enemy it has always been. B
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6952316,00.html US, Russia Spar Over Iran Sanctions Thursday September 27, 2007 4:16 AM By MATTHEW LEE and EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press Writers NEW YORK (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov exchanged sharp words Wednesday as the Bush administration tried to cement support for new U.N. sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programs. Rice and Lavrov disagreed on the matter at a German-hosted luncheon of foreign ministers from the G-8 group of industrialized nations, according to Lavrov and U.S. and European diplomats present. Another participant, speaking on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed, called the exchange ``very emotional.'' The lunch came as Rice and her top aides moved to capitalize on international frustration with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for declaring on Tuesday that the nuclear issue is ``closed'' and vowed to defy any U.N. Security Council move for more sanctions. Ahmadinejad told world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly that Iran has decided to pursue the monitoring of its nuclear program ``through its appropriate legal path,'' the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog. Lavrov told The Associated Press that he had strong words with Rice about whether the time was right for new sanctions when the IAEA has struck an agreement with Iran about its past activities. Lavrov said the United States wanted to ignore the IAEA - as it has in the past. ``We want to rely on IAEA expertise,'' Lavrov said after the meeting of G-8 members: Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States. Nicholas Burns, the State Department's No. 3 diplomat, said there had been a ``lengthy discussion'' on Iran at the lunch. ``There is a very clear tactical disagreement,'' he said. ``But we are hopeful that tactical disagreement can be overcome.'' Burns said Washington supported the IAEA agreement with Iran but stressed that it focused only on past Iranian activity. The U.S. accuses Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons, something Tehran adamantly denies. Iran is already subject to two U.N. sanctions resolutions as well as a growing number of financial penalties from individual nations, but China and Russia have been reluctant to agree to a new U.N. resolution. Earlier, Burns, the under secretary of state for political affairs, had rebuked Ahmadinejad for his comments to the General Assembly. ``I am sorry to tell President Ahmadinejad that the case is not closed,'' he said ahead of a meeting with senior diplomats from the five permanent Security Council members and Germany to craft elements of a new sanctions resolution. ``We're going to keep going,'' Burns told reporters. ``If Mr. Ahmadinejad thinks somehow that he has been given a pass, he is mistaken about that.'' Burns' talks over dinner with diplomats from Russia, China, Britain, France - the other permanent Security Council members - and Germany will set the stage for a second meeting on Thursday and then one between Rice and the group's other foreign ministers on Friday when the resolution is expected to be further defined. However, he said it is unlikely that the text of a new resolution will be agreed to this week The participant who did not want to be identified said Russia did not totally rule out a new resolution. At Friday's meeting, the participant said, efforts will be made to lower the temperature and focus on practical measures. As Burns spoke, Rice was assuring Iran's wary neighbors in the Persian Gulf of U.S. backing to improve their defenses against a ``hegemonistic Iran'' through proposed multibillion-dollar arms sales, a senior State Department official told reporters. In a meeting with the foreign ministers of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - along with Egypt and Jordan, Rice heard deep fears about Iranian attempts to dominate the region, the official said. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a private diplomatic exchange, said all eight countries told Rice that ``they are not going to surrender to Iranian hegemony.'' The Bush administration is in discussions with the Saudis and its other allies in the Gulf to prepare arms sales packages worth about $20 billion despite concern from some in Congress that they could destabilize the region and hurt Israeli security interests. The senior State Department official said that details of the proposed sales were not discussed on Wednesday but that Rice told the Gulf ministers they could count on solid U.S. support. Among ideas being considered for the new sanctions resolution against Iran are widening existing financial sanctions on Iranian entities and possible diplomatic measures, officials said. The Bush administration is considering wide-ranging sanctions against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds force, which is accused of supporting insurgents in Iraq, by naming it an international terrorist group. The Senate on Wednesday voted 76-22 in favor of a resolution urging the State Department to designate the corps as a terrorist organization. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. 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