MOSCOW: A top Russian diplomat has hinted that his country's extensive spying network believes Iran is not yet able to build a nuclear bomb."One cannot say today that Iran can create nuclear weapons and the means of delivering them," said Vladimir Voronkov, head of the Russian foreign ministry's department of European cooperation. "This information is confirmed by all the services responsible for the collection and analysis of information." Voronkov, quoted by some news agencies on Tuesday, appeared to be drawing on information supplied by Moscow's intelligence services. Western countries, which believe that Iran is using an ostensibly peaceful atomic programme to secretly develop nuclear weapons, have persuaded the United Nations to impose economic sanctions on Tehran. Yet Russia has greater access to Iran's nuclear programme than most countries: one of its companies, Atomstroyexport, is building the Bushehr reactor on the humid Gulf coast, giving teams of Russian engineers first-hand contact with their Iranian counterparts. It is also a key supplier of military hardware to the Islamic republic, including the anti-missile defences that now protect its nuclear sites. While the West has pushed hard for action against Iran, however, Russia has advocated a softer approach. It has sometimes infuriated Western diplomats by holding up their proposals for action at the United Nations Security Council. "The difference is that our partners want to use instruments of pressure," said Voronkov. "We do not consider such instruments to be always effective."
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