MOSCOW/VIENNA. March 20 (Interfax) - Russia is opposed to the shutdown of Iranian nuclear research facilities but it believes that the Arak site requires reconfiguration and expects the P5+1 Group and Iran to make progress on this issue by April 7.
"We think that our Iranian friends and partners should demonstrate their goodwill, take international concerns into consideration and find a way to modify, reconfigure the Arak facility, which will lift concerns about its possible use in the arms program; there are such opportunities and they have been discussed during this round. Much attention was given to the available concrete options," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Interfax on Wednesday.
The latest round of negotiations about the Iranian nuclear program in the Ashton-Zarif format involving P5+1 political directors ended in Vienna on Wednesday.
"It is important for us that the period between the Vienna round, which ended today, and the next round to begin on April 7 be used for searching for a common ground and elaborating upon a decision that is acceptable for everyone," he emphasized.
The solution must be found "with due account of different interests, the Iranian wish to preserve what has been done as much as possible, which is understandable for us, and, clearly, with due account of our own position, which, as we hope, Iranian understand as the wish to avoid any prospects of creating weapons or a shift to arms programs," Ryabkov said.
The full version of Ryabkov's interview will be published on the Interfax website www.interfax.ru.