Moscow: September 18, 2007 – There are fast activities and movements showing that US might wage war on Iran. On this issue Russia holds a different viewpoint. Russia warned United States and France on Tuesday over the possibility of war against Iran when French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner pressed for tougher sanctions against Iran.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov emphasised Russia's "concern" over "multiple reports that military sanctions against Iran are being seriously considered. It's hard to imagine what that could do to the region."
Kouchner called for "working on precise sanctions" and added that France and Russia had differences on the issue.

However, the French foreign minister also said that "everything should be done to avoid war."

"War is the worst that could happen," he said. "Everything should be done to avoid war. We have to negotiate, negotiate, negotiate -- without cease, without rebuff."

His comments appeared aimed at quieting an uproar over his statement Sunday that the world should prepare for a possible war with Iran -- a warning Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed Tuesday as fanciful.

The Russian and French ministers met ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on Friday that may impose new sanctions against Tehran for its controversial uranium enrichment activity.

Pressure on Iran has escalated in the run up to the meeting, including Kouchner's statement on Sunday: "We have to prepare for the worst, and the worst is war."

Ahmadinejad told journalists in Tehran on Tuesday: "We do not take these declarations seriously. Comments to the media are different to the real positions."

Tehran vehemently denies US accusations it is seeking an atomic weapon, saying its nuclear drive is aimed at generating electricity.
Russia, which is building Iran's first nuclear reactor in the southern Russian city of Bushehr, has consistently warned against attacking the Islamic republic.
 
Iranian Vice President Reza Aghazadeh told the general conference of the IAEA's 144 member states that Western countries "have always chosen the path of confrontation instead of the path of understanding and cordial relations toward the great nation of Iran.

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