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Russia complains about German seizure of Iran items

Posted by Zand-Bon on Jun 29th, 2010 and filed under INTERNATIONAL NEWS FOCUS, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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By Louis Charbonneau at the United Nations

Source:

June 28, 2010

Russia complained to the Security Council on Monday about what U.N. diplomats said was Germany’s seizure of items bound for a nuclear power plant in , saying such moves were “not in line” with U.N. rules.

Russia had previously told members of the council’s sanctions committee it was furious about Germany’s seizure of technology bound for the Russian-built Bushehr nuclear reactor in Iran and the questioning of several men connected with the deal, U.N. diplomats told Reuters.

Without mentioning Germany, Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told council members during a meeting on U.N. sanctions against Tehran Moscow was unhappy with the moves by “third states” to prevent the delivery of certain items to .

Churkin described such restrictions, which go beyond four rounds of sanctions against over its nuclear program, as “unacceptable” and “not in line” with council resolutions.

“Strict compliance with Security Council resolutions … requires the need for member states to refrain from the use of additional limitation constraints … especially ones of an extra-territorial nature,” he said.

Russia’s dispute with Germany arose, diplomats said on condition of anonymity, after equipment several Germans had acquired on behalf of Russia and its Bushehr light-water reactor in was seized by German authorities and the Germans involved held for questioning.

The first U.N. sanctions resolution against , passed in 2006, exempted technology for light-water reactors like Bushehr, which are seen as less of a proliferation risk than heavy-water reactors, the spent fuel from which is rich in bomb-grade plutonium. Bushehr is scheduled to open in August.

NOT ALLOWED UNDER EU RULES

But the European Union’s own directives on implementing U.N. steps against go further than the U.N. sanctions and do not exempt the Bushehr reactor, diplomats say.

“It may be allowed under Security Council resolutions, but it’s not allowed under EU rules,” a European diplomat told Reuters. “Perhaps wasn’t aware of it.”

‘s U.N. mission had no immediate comment.

Moscow has also complained about recent U.S. and EU moves to tighten their own unilateral sanctions against , steps they took after the council approved a fourth round of U.N. sanctions against Tehran earlier this month.

says its atomic program is aimed at generating electricity, not developing arms, as Western powers suspect.

Japanese Ambassador Yukio Takasu, chairman of the sanctions committee, told the Security Council his panel had received several official notifications about items intended for use in Bushehr from unnamed U.N. member states, which council envoys said were Germany and Russia.

Western diplomats say the Bushehr dispute highlights the gulf between countries like Russia and China, which have continued to do business with despite four rounds of U.N. sanctions, and Western powers which have been making it increasingly difficult to trade with Tehran.

(Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; editing by )

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