Special Report: Iran Nuclear Crisis
TEHRAN, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Russian President
Vladimir Putin arrived in Tehran on Tuesday morning for a landmark visit despite
warnings of a possible assassination plot.
Putin is currently attending a Caspian Sea states summit in Tehran and will hold meetings with Iranian leaders during his visit, which is the first by a Kremlin chief since Josef Stalin visited the country in 1943.
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (L) and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin shake hands during an official welcome ceremony in Tehran Oct. 16, 2007. Putin arrived in Tehran on Tuesday morning for a landmark visit despite warnings of a possible assassination plot. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)
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The Russian leader was welcomed by Iranian Foreign
Minister Manouchehr Mottaki at the airport and later officially welcomed by
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Russia's Interfax news agency had reported earlier
according to sources from Kremlin's security services that a suicide bomber was
planning to kill Putin when he visits Iran, but Putin shrugged off the rumors
during his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday.
"Of course I am going to Iran, if I always listen to
what the security services said, I will never leave home," said Putin.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini
has dismissed the report and accused it of trying to harm ties between Iran and
Russia.
The Russian president pays his visit to Iran amid
growing tensions between Tehran and Western countries over its disputed nuclear
program.
The United States accused Iran of developing atomic
bomb under civilian cover and is now pushing the UN Security Council to impose a
third sanction resolution against Tehran since last December, but Iranian
officials have repeatedly denied the accusations and said they just wanted to
generate electricity.
Russia has said it insisted peaceful dialogue was the
only way to deal with Tehran's defiance over the UN demand of halting the
uranium enrichment work, warning the West not to force Iran too much.
"The Iranian people and leadership are not scared of
threat, believe me," Putin has said in Germany.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin
addresses the media during the Petersburg Dialogue, a regular
Russian-German conference, in Wiesbaden, Germany, on Monday, Oct. 15,
2007.(Xinhua/AFP Photo)
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Putin to visit Tehran despite reports
on assassination threat
BERLIN, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Russian President
Vladimir Putin insisted on Monday in Wiesbaden of Germany that he would visit
Iran later Monday despite reports on possible assassination plot against him.
"Of course I am going to Iran," Putin told a press
conference after he held talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in
Wiesbaden. Full story
Senior official: Russia will take all
measures to ensure Putin's safety in Iran
MOSCOW, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian security services
should rule out even the slightest chance of making an attempt on the life of
the Russian president, a senior Russian official said Monday.
Boris Gryzlov, speaker of the State Duma or the lower
house of parliament, made the remarks when commenting on a warning about a
possible attempt on the life of Vladimir Putin in Iran. Full story
Putin: No proof Iran has nuke
plans
MOSCOW, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Russia would continue
cooperation with other countries at the United Nations in order to settle Iran's
nuclear problem, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with visiting
French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Kremlin on Wednesday.
"We have no data that Iran seeks to produce nuclear
weapons. We believe that it has no such plans ... But we share concerns by our
partners to make Iran's programs open and transparent. We consent that in recent
years Iran has taken steps towards this direction," Putin was quoted by the
Itar-Tass news agency as saying. Full story
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