PARIS - France and Germany said Friday they saw no contradiction between an EU bid to secure guarantees Iran will not use an atomic energy program to acquire nuclear weapons and nuclear cooperation between Moscow and Tehran.
"Russia ships fuel and takes it back," German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said at a press conference following a summit of the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Spain in the French capital.
"The fuel is not processed, nor is it enriched and cannot be enriched in Iran," he said with Russian President Vladimir Putin by his side.
"This is why there is no contradiction" with the position of the EU troika -- Britain, France and Germany -- which are negotiating with Iran to try to secure "objective guarantees" that the clerical regime will not use its atomic energy program to acquire nuclear weapons.
In exchange, the three European governments are offering a package of trade, security and technology incentives.
The United States accuses Iran of using an atomic energy drive as a cover for developing nuclear weapons, and has threatened to take the issue to the UN Security Council.
French President Jacques Chirac said he shared Schroeder's position.
"There is no contradiction between the Russian position and the position which England, Germany and France are jointly negotiating or trying to negotiate, with positive steps," he said.
Putin said Russia's cooperation with Iran was conditional on the transparency of Tehran's policies, its respect of International Atomic Energy Agency decisions and its renunciation of any nuclear military program.
Under a deal signed last month at Bushehr, the site in Iran of the country's first civilian nuclear power station still under construction, Iran agreed to return immediately to Russia all nuclear fuel after it has been spent in civilian reactors.
"We will meet agreements signed (with Iran) but we will attentively monitor Iran's level of cooperation with international organizations to control nuclear technologies," he added.
03/18/2005 21:21 GMT