Russia denies ultimatum to Iran on nuclear issue

March 20, 2007

Moscow - Russia denied a report Tuesday that it has delivered an ultimatum to Iran that it will not provide fuel for its first nuclear power plant unless Tehran agrees to suspend its uranium enrichment.

A senior Bush administration official said the report is true.

The senior administration official said the development was cheered by the White House, which believes it will help the United States ratchet up pressure on Iran to end its push for nuclear weapons. Iran denies its nuclear program is intended for anything but peaceful purposes.

The senior administration official said the move came because Russia has "rising concerns about Iran having nuclear weapons on their southern flank."

But Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin flatly denied the story, which was first reported in Tuesday editions of the New York Times. "The report is not accurate," he told reporters. "There have been no Russian ultimatums to Iran of any kind."

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