Russia Warns Israel, West Against Attack On Iran

[Purveyor]

Source: Reuters

MOSCOW | Wed Jan 23, 2013 8:11am EST

(Reuters) - Russia warned Israel and the West on Wednesday against any military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities but suggested Tehran should be quicker to cooperate over inspections of its nuclear sites.

Speaking at his annual news conference, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov mixed words of caution over isolating Iran or attacking it with a gentle nudge to Tehran over the inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"Attempts to prepare and implement strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and on its infrastructure as a whole are a very, very dangerous idea. We hope these ideas will not come to fruition," Lavrov said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted strongly at possible military action to stop Iran from developing an atomic bomb. In an election victory speech on Wednesday, he said preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons would be the main challenge for a new government.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/23/us-nuclear-iran-russia-idUSBRE90M0F620130123?feedType=RSS

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

1. When Russia is the one talking diplomacy one has to wonder

how screwed up things have really become.