Posted on 02/25/2005 8:34:45 AM PST by jb6
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko plans to visit Iran in the first half of this year, the presidency announced here Thursday after the ex-Soviet republic's new leader held talks with a visiting Iranian envoy.
Mehdi Safari, a special envoy of Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, discussed ways to expand economic cooperation between the two countries, said a statement issued by Yushchenko's office.
Among areas where joint projects are being studied are the construction of gas pipelines, the oil sector, shipbuilding, space technology and the aircraft industry, the statement said.
Yushchenko, a reformist liberal who took power earlier this year after his Western-backed "orange revolution" ousted the pro-Moscow regime, has not hesitated nonetheless to ruffle Washington's feathers.
Ukraine is to pull out its troops from Iraq, dealing a blow to the US-led coalition forces, and continue to develop ties with Iran, a country seen as a "rogue state" by the United States, which accuses it of developing nuclear weapons.
bump
Umm, Ukraine is right in the middle of that neighborhood.
What would you like for them to do? It is in their interests to get along with their neighbors.
Are you still hung up on the Iraq thing?
Thanks for posting it. Some of us are not surprised one bit. Ukrainse is NOT pro-US under Yushchenko, just the opposite. As you point out, Ukraine now has the same attitude as France and Germany and the current Spanish government: pro-terrorist, anti-US. Out of all the heads of state to visit, why is Yushchenko choosing to rush to visit the terrorist state of Iran?
Wasn't a large part of his so called "revolution" supported by Soros and Open Society? If that is so, Yushchenko is no friend of ours and this visit to Iran is no surprise.
no, yushchenko was not supported by soros. he had alot more support from the us.
hey texasflower!
i think he's gotta hang up over a lotta things. yushchenko meets with iran ONCE, and he's not a freind of the US, but when putin meets with iran, sells them weapons, sells syria weapons, talks with n. korea and china, he's our 'friend'.
yeah, that makes whole lotta sense.
Out of all the heads of state to visit, why is Yushchenko choosing to rush to visit the terrorist state of Iran?
He was probably just looking to sell 1,600 rifles cheap...barely used and only dropped once.
Russia says such a danger will be avoided by ensuring all spent fuel is returned and by Iran's allowing officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency to monitor Bushehr.
Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency quoted the Russian ambassador to Iran, Alexander Maryasov, as saying that after the agreement is signed, "there will be no grounds to state that Iran may use nuclear fuel for other than peaceful purposes." Iran, which has agreed to IAEA monitoring at Bushehr, denies it seeks nuclear weapons and says its program aims only to generate electricity.
In Berlin on Friday, Iran's top nuclear negotiator Hassan Rowhani said he was hopeful Iran soon will be able to work out an agreement with Britain, France and Germany on his country's uranium enrichment program.
Iran has suspended the program, pending talks with the Europeans, but it is resisting international pressure to abandon enrichment. Iran insists it has the right to produce its own reactor fuel. Uranium enriched to a low degree is used for reactors, but it can be enriched further for nuclear bombs.
"We are confident that we will, through positive measures from all sides, see positive results in March," Rowhani said after talks with German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.
Fischer seemed less optimistic, telling reporters "the positions of the two sides are complex and difficult to bridge."
Tehran's chief nuclear negotiator, Hassan Rowhani, meanwhile, said in an interview published Friday in Paris' Le Monde newspaper that Iran might be hiding its nuclear technology inside special tunnels because of threats of attack by the United States.
Asked about reports of the tunnels, Rowhani said they "could be true."
"From the moment the Americans threaten to attack our nuclear sites, what are we to do? We have to put them somewhere," Rowhani said.
IAEA officials have said they are aware of the tunnels in the western city of Isfahan.
The United States and Israel fear the Iranians could use the Bushehr reactor to build nuclear weapons. Russia argues that cannot happen because the deal calls for spent fuel to be returned, and U.N. nuclear experts will monitor the facility.
President Bush's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Bratislava, Slovakia, on Thursday touched on U.S. concerns over the Iranian reactor. But Putin has said he is sure Iran does not intend to build nuclear weapons, and Russian cooperation with the country would go ahead.
The head of Russia's Federal Atomic Energy Agency, Alexander Rumyantsev, is to sign an agreement Saturday on the supply and return of nuclear fuel, an official of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Hafezi, told The Associated Press.
But diplomats in Vienna, Austria, cautioned Friday that Iran and Russia had often indicated a deal was imminent.
The agreement has been repeatedly delayed by what Iranian and Russian officials called technical and financial details. But diplomats in Vienna say U.S. pressure on Russia also has held it up.
Russia could be delivering nuclear fuel to Iran within two months of signing the deal, Rumyantsev spokesman Nikolai Shingarov told AP last week.
Russia helped build the $800 million reactor at Bushehr in southern Iran, and construction is now complete on the light water reactor capable of generating 1,000 megawatts of electricity. Rumyantsev is scheduled to visit the plant Sunday.
The United States, which accuses Iran of having a secret program to make nuclear weapons, had long urged Russia to terminate its assistance to Iran's nuclear development.
Good point about Putin's little affair with the Iranians. I see none of jb6's posse has an answer to that one. Did you see the little short article that said Ukraine is considering training Iraqi forces?
Non-U.S. forces rethink leaving Iraq
BTW, I noticed your tagline, now that song is stuck in my head again!
First, Ukraine is not in the middle of that neighborhood, it's on the edge of the EU. Well, in that case you've made the case for all eastern "New" Europe nations turning their backs on us in favor of the Franco-Germanics. Who's side are you on?
I see you have no criticism for Ukraine or the EU being hip deep in Iran. Why am I not surprised. Waiting, waiting...nope.
You have nothing on which to base your claims that Ukraine is turning it's back on us.
Also, it IS in the neighborhood. Check a map.
You have made no comment about the article I linked for you.
It appears that Yuschenko is going to help with Iraq after all.
That is a silly thing to say. You aren't very bright are you?
Iran is not all that far away. In fact, parts of Ukraine are farther from Germany than Iran. France is even farther.
I'm still waiting to hear why you are upset with Yuschenko for talking to Iran, but not Putin who is their supplier?
You make no sense.
Boy you are so right, they are working with us on NaTO mili-tech which they will soon be selling to the Chinese. Or did you miss Washington being rather upset about that?
You're the one making the silly statements and excuses. Fact is, Yushchenko, whom you trumpetted as the best thing for America since sliced bread, started to give us the finger the momement he won. You just don't want to admit we were right. Sooner or later it will become so blatent even you'll have swallow that lard.
What would you like for them to do? It is in their interests to get along with their neighbors
If by that you mean Iran is their neighbor, then so is Syria, Libya and every other nation of Europe/North Africa/Middle East/Asia. Your concept of a neighbor (Ukraine seperated from Iran by 3,000km, is so wide, that Iran is also in our neighborhood, considering we own Guam and have bases in Gemany. Why aren't we paying formal visits to the Mullahs?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.