West need Russia’s help to resolve Iran issue: Putin

Russia has said the Western powers would need its cooperation to resolve controversial Iranian nuclear programme.

Russia has said the Western powers would need its cooperation to resolve controversial Iranian nuclear programme which the United States and its allies say is geared towards preparing atomic weapons but Tehran asserts it is purely for generation of power.

Asked whether Moscow would withdraw its cooperation in reining in the Iranian nuclear programme if the Western powers impose sanctions, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told CNN that “if no one wants to talk to us about these problems, the cooperation with Russia become unnecessary, God bless, do this work yourself.”

Russia, he said, has been working “very consistently and in good faith” with its partners to resolve all problems.

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“We do so not because someone asks us and we want to look good to them. We are doing it because this is consistent with our national interests, because in these areas, our national interests coincide with those of many European countries and the United States,” he said.

Asked whether Russia will use gas and oil to pressurise the Europeans who are dependent on it, Putin said that Moscow never politicises economic relations and is “quite astonished” at the position of the US officials who are travelling to the European capitals trying to persuade them not to buy Russian products, including natural gas.

It is a “truly amazing effort to politicise the economic sphere. In fact, it’s “quite pernicious,” he added.

Asserting that Russia had never use oil for political ends, Putin said: “Construction of the first gas pipeline system was started during the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, and for all those years, from the 1960s until this day, Russia has been fulfilling its contract obligations in a very consistent and reliable way, regardless of the political situation.”

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India and the US have resumed trade negotiations after the US imposed tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. The sixth round of talks will focus on recognising India's red lines and possibly increasing energy purchases from the US. Other topics include easing patent rules, data flows, and giving US firms procurement access.

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