The Media Mirror – Today's Russian press review

Two main issues are in the focus of Tuesday’s Russian press. The first one is the statement of the Head of the IAEA, who said that Iran has no nukes. And the second is the recent progress in Russia-U.S. missile talks, reached over the non-proliferation of

VREMYA NOVOSTEY writes deputy Chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Olly Heinonen, on a visit to Iran, said cooperation between the IAEA and the Iranian government “is on a good level”. His boss, Mohamed ElBareidi, says the paper, addressed the World through CNN with a question: “Have we seen any nuclear material ready for use in Iran?” And answered it himself: “No, we haven’t.” He also said, the U.S. is more focused on suspicions concerning Iran’s nuclear weapons program than on gathering evidence proving its existence.

NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA says, the IAEA Director General’s criticism of the U.S. follows the same lines as President Putin’s at the recent Russia-EU summit. Vladimir Putin’s visit to Iran and the special reception provided to him there gave birth to speculation about a secret deal sealed by the Russian President and the leadership of Iran. However, sources in the Russian Foreign Ministry say, there was nothing special in the meeting.

KOMMERSANT writes, to start the preparation of a strike on Iran in earnest, Washington needs firm IAEA support of its suspicions. After Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction story, no one is going to believe the U.S. if it acts alone. Without IAEA saying “Yes”, Iran will have a nuclear weapon very soon, the U.S. cannot even start forming a coalition. So far, writes the paper, the IAEA is saying 'No'.

Russia and the U.S. finally have found some common ground to stand together, writes VREMYA NOVOSTEI. It happens to be the issue of nuclear-tipped missile non-proliferation. To be exact – non-proliferation of medium-range missiles. The two nations urge all others to join their 1987 treaty banning such missiles. The paper says, back in the 1980s, it was enough to ban them in two countries as no one else had them. Now the bilateral character of the treaty becomes a limitation. The problem is, says the paper, today many countries have only one kind of missile – the medium-range. And they will be very reluctant to part with them.