MOSCOW, September 2 (RIA Novosti) - International talks on Iran's controversial nuclear program due in Germany on Wednesday are unlikely to bring any new solutions, a senior Russian expert said.
The United States, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany are meeting to address suspicions surrounding Iran's uranium enrichment activities, needed both in electricity and weapons production. Tehran has pledged new proposals to ease the concerns.
"I believe nothing new should be expected as the six nations differ over which way they should follow to tackle Iran's nuclear program," Vladimir Sazhin, a senior expert with Russia's Institute of Oriental Studies, told RIA Novosti.
Western powers seek harsher sanctions against the Islamic Republic if it does not agree to halt uranium enrichment before late this month. Russia and China, however, insist on diplomatic steps.
Sazhin said the Western powers were unlikely to persuade the two veto-wielding Security Council members to approve the fourth round of UN sanctions.
China, a major consumer of Iranian oil, is not interested in damaging the economic situation in the country, also a major market for its commodities, Sazhin said.
He said Russia is not that dependent on Iran economically, as it is completing the $1 billion project to build Bushehr nuclear power plant this year, and has political interests in the country, a major regional player.
"Therefore, I do not expect any breakthroughs today, but the meeting is important," Sazhin said, adding that the six nations would also discuss recent developments in Iran.
The June 12 presidential election and subsequent opposition protests plunged Iran into its deepest internal crisis since the Islamic Revolution thirty years ago. The opposition said the vote was rigged to secure hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's reelection. Officials reject the accusation, saying the vote was Iran's "healthiest." At least 26 people died in the post-election bloodshed.
Sazhin described the unrest as an internal "struggle for power and finances."
He suggested opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi, if in power, would not have abandoned the nuclear program either, but would pursue a more moderate line. "The general line would have remained intact, but tactics would have been different. This would have improved the situation in the Middle East."
Sazhin also said Ahmadinejad's new government, which is due to be sworn in in the next few days, was unlikely to offer any new solutions.
"Iran does seem to have softened its position somewhat. I mean it has allowed accesses to the earlier classified nuclear facilities in Natanz, and Iran said it had prepared a package of proposals to overcome the crisis, but I believe these are only maneuvers," the expert said.
Iran has been offered economic incentives from the six powers if it suspends uranium activities. Tehran earlier said it would never give up its nuclear program which it needs to generate electricity.
The six international negotiators have also been discussing the possibility of holding a high-level meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in late September.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, will gather on September 15 to look into Iran's nuclear ambitions.
IAEA Mohamed ElBaradei said in his latest interview that there was no evidence that Tehran has a nuclear weapons program, and the Iranian nuclear threat has been "hyped." But he said Iran should be more transparent with the organization to ease concerns about its future nuclear intentions.
