Iran threats against Israel 'unacceptable': Putin

Google – AFP, 11 June 2013

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Iran had a right to a peaceful nuclear programme but slammed as "unacceptable" its threats against its regional nemesis Israel.

"Iran is in a very difficult region," Putin told a televised question-and-answer session in Moscow.

"And when we hear threats from Iran against its neighbours, particularly Israel, when we hear from Iran that Israel must be destroyed -- I think this is completely unacceptable."

Putin appeared to be referring to comments made over the years by Iran's outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who will stand down when his second terms expires shortly after Friday's national election.

Russia is a close trading partner with Iran and supplies the Islamic Republic with weapons and has built its first nuclear reactor near the Gulf city of Bushehr.

But Moscow in recent years has taken a more stern line with Tehran that includes a demand for it to cooperate with United Nations nuclear inspectors.

Western powers and Israel suspect that Iran's nuclear programme is aimed at eventually developing an atomic weapon that could be used against its enemies.

Tehran counters that it needs the programme for nuclear energy and for medical research needs.

Putin said on Tuesday that Iran should not be "discriminated" against with demands for it to abandon its nuclear programme.

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Archangel Michael on Putin -  May 13, 2013 (An Hour with an Angel)

SB: Okay. Thank you, Lord. I’m going to put the Vladimir Putin question ahead of the Boston bombing question. I think a lot of Russian readers and listeners are wondering if they can trust Vladimir Putin.

Now, you’ve said he was in containment and he’s coming out of containment. Can you direct yourself to Russian listeners, please, and tell them what they need to know about Vladimir Putin, please?

AAM: Well, I will say that he has been gradually coming out of containment, and reintegrated, shall we say, into society and into his role and decisions. So what I say to you is be vigilant and be the observer. Do not get caught in what appears to be the drama of this readjustment of power. So, allow the shifting of the core and the centers of power to be adjusted.

Russia has a very important role to play in the future years, as I have said before. So, stand back, my friends. Be the observer. I am not asking you to extend your wholehearted trust and empathy to this individual. What I am asking you to do is to extend trust to your own discernment, because it is not 100 per cent clean, but it is not dirty either.