Possible Russian-Iranian military-technological cooperation won't upset Mideast balance - diplomat
MOSCOW. Feb 27 (Interfax) - The possible development of military-technological cooperation between Moscow and Tehran will not upset the balance of forces in the Middle East region, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.
"I can assure you that, comparing the volumes of shipments that earlier went to Iran from the Russian Federation with shipments sent by other countries to countries other than Iran, it would be wrong to conclude that Russia might do something in the current situation that would radically disturb the balance," Ryabkov said in reply to a question from Interfax on Friday.
Moscow always takes a responsible approach toward such cooperation, he said.
"I don't want to simplify the situation. We always take an extremely responsible approach to our own military-technological cooperation with all countries, which includes strict compliance with national norms and the mandatory inclusion of information on the end user of these products in the contracts. We certainly take political aspects into consideration, especially when the matter concerns such a complicated region," Ryabkov said.
Speculations on the potential negative effects of such cooperation are aimed at ousting Russia from the weapons market, he said.
"Those who circulate such kind of arguments - and there are quite a few of such politicians - either seek to oust Russia from the weapons markets or speculate about nothing," he said.
"Until the weapons embargo is lifted, there are no contracts that could give reasons for a serious conversation on the matter," he said.