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Iran Puts Off FM's Trip To Russia In Spat Over Meetings
Tehran (AFP) Feb 19, 2002 Iran canceled a visit to Russia by Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi due to start Tuesday, with both sides giving different reasons, in a setback for ties with Moscow at a time when Tehran is under severe pressure from Washington. "Because of the lack of coordination over the programme of Mr. Kharazi's meetings in Moscow, the visit has been postponed to a later date," the foreign ministry said, giving no indication when it might take place. An Iranian government source said the level of Kharazi's talks was "unsatisfactory", implying that a meeting with President Vladimir Putin was not guaranteed or would not have taken place under the "right" conditions. A source close to the Kremlin appeared to confirm that a meeting was not on the schedule. "A foreign minister comes (to Russia) above all to meet his counterpart," the source said. "His eventually being received by the president is a possibility that depends, to a great extent, on the head of state's diary." The Russian foreign ministry said only that Kharazi's "working visit ... has been postponed by mutual agreement until a later date, which will be agreed through diplomatic channels." Spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said the postponement was "connected to the need to resolve several questions of bilateral cooperation." Kharazi had been due to arrive late Monday and have talks Wednesday with his Russian counterpart, Igor Ivanov, on Afghanistan, the US-led "war on terror" and the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Ironically, the trip would have coincided with one by US Undersecretary of State for Arms Control John Bolton, who is heading to Moscow to negotiate a disarmament accord ahead of the US-Russian summit in May. During his State of the Union address last month, US President George W. Bush labeled Iran, Iraq and North Korea as an "axis of evil," accusing them of seeking to acquire weapons of mass destruction.
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