Russia's Medvedev: armed action on Iran unacceptable

MOSCOW-A military solution to the standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions is unacceptable and there is no need at the moment for new sanctions, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday.But Medvedev said Russia continued to support a diplomatic drive led by European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana to offer Tehran a package of incentives in return for it reining in some of its nuclear activities.Western states are anxious that a rift between Moscow and the West over Russia's intervention in Georgia may shatter the fragile international coalition that has been applying pressure on Iran over its nuclear program."We should not take any unilateral steps. It is not acceptable to opt for a military scenario. It would be dangerous," Medvedev told the Valdai Club, a panel of journalists and academics who specialize in Russia. "The key is that negotiations be pursued... They have been quite positive," Medvedev said. "We should not adopt any additional sanctions now."Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was in Moscow on Monday for talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, the two countries' first high-level contact since Russia angered the West last month by sending troops and tanks into Georgia.Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said Western states will have to tackle Iran without Russia's help if they withdraw cooperation in other areas as punishment for the Kremlin's actions in Georgia.The United States and other Western powers say they suspect Iran is seeking a nuclear bomb under cover of its civilian nuclear program. http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSLC71319120080912
As in the days of Noah...