Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, made the remarks in an interview with the Russian newspaper Kommersant published on Sunday, ahead of the IAEA Board of Governors’ quarterly meeting.
Ulyanov said Western countries were using the safeguards system as a political tool against countries they opposed, undermining its technical foundations and the principle of neutrality. He said Russia and like-minded countries were working to preserve the transparency and technical and legal credibility of safeguards procedures.
The Russian diplomat also criticized the Western-led approach at the IAEA Board of Governors and the UN Security Council, saying political maneuvering by Western majorities in both bodies had taken precedence over genuine efforts to resolve differences with Iran.
Addressing a September resolution by the IAEA Board of Governors demanding access for inspectors to all Iranian nuclear facilities, Ulyanov said the resolution came while Iran has been repeatedly under US and Israeli military threats. He warned that any attack on facilities hosting international inspectors could put their lives in direct danger.
He said the United States and the European troika of Britain, France and Germany had used their numerical advantage on the Board of Governors to seek referral of the resolution to the UN Security Council, a move he said would only heighten tensions without producing constructive results.
Ulyanov also rejected recent US allegations of secret Iranian nuclear activities at the so-called Pickaxe Mountain site, noting that the IAEA had never issued a report on the facility and, to Russia’s knowledge, had no information confirming nuclear activities there.
He said Washington had failed to provide credible evidence to support its allegations.
The IAEA Board of Governors is scheduled to begin its quarterly meeting in Vienna on November 18, with Iran among the key issues on its agenda.
Iran has consistently stressed the peaceful nature of its nuclear program and its commitment to obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
Tehran has maintained that the resumption of normal safeguards cooperation requires an end to military threats and the establishment of necessary security conditions.
MNA
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