News

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said last week that Iran's
latest statements and actions were compelling the United States ". . .
and other countries" to resort to stiff sanctions.  Russian Security
Council Deputy Secretary Vladimir Nazarov said in his turn that Moscow
might support sanctions but that they must be "adequate to the threat
presented by the Iranian nuclear program" and must "not punish the
Iranian people."  Nazarov added that Russia is trying to persuade its
Western partners to find a diplomatic solution to the problem instead of
"driving Iran into a corner."  This interview was conducted by Interfax
correspondent Pavel Koryashkin for Kommersant.