Russia Supports Iran Sanctions, But With Limits
Michael D. Shear and Glenn Kessler
04/09/2010
Washington Post
Original Source: – HYPERLINK http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/08/AR2010040803866.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/08/AR2010040803866.html

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told President Obama privately Thursday that there remain limits to his country's support for sanctions on http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/iran.html?nav=el Iran, even as the move for united action to restrain Iran's nuclear ambition accelerates.
Obama and Medvedev together pledged support for imposing sanctions on Iran as soon as this spring, using the sidelines of a signing ceremony for a historic nuclear arms reduction treaty as a venue for private discussions.
The administration is – HYPERLINK http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/02/AR2010040201821.html pressing hard this month for a new U.N. Security Council resolution that would tighten sanctions on the Islamic republic for refusing to engage in talks about its nuclear program, but it faces reluctance from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/china.html?nav=el China as well as countries such as http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/brazil.html?nav=el Brazil and Turkey on the 15-member council.
Speaking to reporters after an 85-minute closed-door meeting with Medvedev, Obama expressed hope that negotiators in New York will secure strong, tough sanctions on Iran this spring.
We are going to be pushing very hard to make sure that both smart and strong sanctions end up being in place soon to send a signal to Iran and other countries that this is an issue that the international community takes seriously, Obama said.
In his remarks, Medvedev said he agrees that nations cannot turn a blind eye to Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons and said he cannot disagree with what Obama said. But he made clear that Russian support for sanctions will be conditioned on their intent to change Iran's behavior, not to punish its people.
Let me put it straightforward, Medvedev said of his discussions with Obama at the meeting at Prague Castle. I have outlined our limits for such sanctions.
Officials from both countries said later that Medvedev privately offered a broad range of objections to sanctions, including actions that would create economic hardship for Iran, foment financial chaos or lead to regime change.
Sergei Ryabkov, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/russia.html?nav=el Russia's deputy foreign minister, told reporters in Prague that Medvedev and Obama discussed sanctions that would be targeted, tailored. Ryabkov said, for example, that a total embargo on deliveries of refined oil would mean a slap, a blow, a huge shock for the whole society.
Top White House officials who participated in the closed-door meeting said Medvedev described for Obama the redlines that Russia could not cross. They declined to elaborate on those objections, but said that sanctions on Iran's energy sector are not off the table.
We're into the heart of discussion, what should be in the resolution, said Michael McFaul, the president's senior Russia adviser. We discussed energy today, obviously. It is not off the table. Where it ends up, I don't know.
The Obama-Medvedev exchange came as negotiators for six nations are meeting in New York to draft sanction language that could pass muster in the Security Council. Iran insists that its nuclear program is peaceful, but has refused to stop enriching uranium that the United States and other countries say is part of a secret weapons program.
A senior European diplomat said Thursday that the United States and its allies are pushing to pass a resolution this month, even if it contains relatively weak language. He and other sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the diplomatic sensitivity.
But he and other diplomats said it will be very difficult to win China's approval in this compressed time frame.
I don't think it's hopeless, but we have a long way to go. The Chinese have not agreed yet to targeted sanctions, a second top European diplomat said.
April has become a critical month, because http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/japan.html?nav=el Japan, a close U.S. ally, holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council now, while the gavel will be passed to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/lebanon.html?nav=el Lebanon in May. Because Lebanon's governing coalition includes members of Hezbollah, a Shiite militia and political party that is allied with Iran, diplomats expect that no progress can be made on passing a resolution until June if negotiations are not completed in the next three weeks.
U.S. officials have proposed stiffening existing sanctions, focusing especially on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the elite force that increasingly is a powerful entity in Iran's economy, allowing for search and seizure of suspicious cargo, and a ban on trade credits.
But officials already appear to have backed off plans for the resolution to name specific Iranian cargo carriers and forbid the issuance of trade insurance for Iranian carriers.
Brazil and Turkey, two other nonpermanent members of the council, also have been reluctant to endorse new sanctions on Iran.
One of the diplomats said the allies could live with a weak resolution that includes three abstentions this month, because it is unclear whether the result would be much different if the negotiations continued until June.
What is viewed as more critical is that Russia and China, two permanent members that have endorsed previous sanctions on Iran, vote for the final product.
China on Thursday for the first time attended a meeting of U.N. envoys to discuss the elements in a resolution, which one diplomat said is a sign that Beijing believes it is hopeless to expect renewed Iranian cooperation. The envoys emerged from the meeting late Thursday saying that it was constructive and that they will meet again next week.