TEL AVIV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th November, 2019) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Wednesday that he had discussed the Iranian nuclear program during his visit to Israel and noted that the two sides have different positions concerning the problem.
"We held a traditional round of bilateral consultations on security issues, I met with Deputy Director General [for Strategic Affairs of the Israeli Foreign Ministry Joshua] Zarka and was received by Director General of the Foreign Ministry [Alon] Ushpiz. The discussions focused on the issues of arms control, non-proliferation, the prospects for holding broader and universal events in this area, which are coming," Ryabkov told reporters.
The deputy foreign minister stressed that Russia and Israel were going to expand common ground regarding the Iran nuclear issue, noting that there were some gaps between the countries' positions.
"Of course, we have addressed the Iranian issue. We do not agree on everything, it would be strange to expect full agreement, but there are areas where we have quite close approaches. We intend to expand common grounds and interaction with Israeli colleagues on international platforms on these issues as much as possible," Ryabkov added.
On Tuesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced that the country would start on Wednesday injecting gas into centrifuges at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant at the level of 5 percent, an activity that was previously banned under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Meanwhile, the president stressed that the decision was reversible and Iran would suspend gasification as soon as the deal signatories complied with their commitments.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said following Tehran's move that Israel would not let the Iranian regime build nuclear weapons.
