"The Iranian nuclear problem does exist," Ivanov was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency on Monday.
Replying to a question whether the Iranian nuclear issue might trigger a war between Iran and the West, he said, "It is my great hope that things would not go that far." A Russian delegation held negotiations in Tehran on Russia's offer to enrich Iranian nuclear fuel on Russian territory, Ivanov said and added that he was not aware of the results of the talks.
"Russia has made one very reasonable proposal. In order not to violate the international law and not to cause anxiety in the world community, Russia has offered to enrich Iranian nuclear fuel on its own territory," he said, referring to the Russian-Iranian talks in Tehran this week, on Moscow's proposal to set up a joint venture in Russia to enrich uranium for Iran.
Meanwhile, Konstantin Kosachyov, the chairman of the State Duma (lower house of parliament) International Affairs Committee, told Ekho Moskvy radio station that existing Russian-Iranian relations were currently marked by confidence and the advantage should be taken to solve the Iranian nuclear problem.
"Russia remains one of Iran's few partners in the international arena. Our relations make it possible to discuss the most delicate of issues in an atmosphere of confidence and in a constructive way," Kosachyov said.
"This is an asset that should be valued and used in an extremely efficient manner in order to achieve the main goal -- keeping Iran within the framework of the regime of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, guaranteeing transparency for the Iranian nuclear programme, and preventing its use for military purposes," he noted.
Kosachyov also lambasted a recent statement by IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei to the effect that by its nuclear programme, Iran practically broke the limit of his own patience and that of the world community.
"We must not discuss the Iranian situation in categories that amount to whether we have enough patience or not. This issue may be discussed only in categories of whether the IAEA does or does not have any grievances against Iran from the viewpoint of its fulfillment of commitments within the framework of the regime of the NPT," he said.
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