Two men - one sane, one not

The last official visit to Iran by a Kremlin leader was back in 1943. During the Great Patriotic War, Joseph Stalin attended the conference of the "Big Three" allied powers in Tehran along with Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt. President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, was warmly received by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the men were often seen smiling, shaking hands and conducting intense discussions.

Washington has continually attempted to pressure President Putin to toughen his stance over Iran's nuclear program. It is quite apparent that they did not want this meeting to occur. Indeed, there were warnings of a possible assassination attempt that was to occur in Iran. President Putin made it quite clear during the Tehran summit that Russia would not accept any sort of military action against Iran and rejected the possibility of further sanctions being implemented as a veto holding member of the UN Security Council.

At the summit meeting of Caspian Sea states, the presidents of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan joined President Putin in announcing that their respective states "would not allow their territory to be used by a third country to commit military action against one of other Caspian littoral states."

"It is important... that we not only do not use any kind of force but also do not even think about the possibility of using force," Putin told the four other leaders present for the summit.

The US has been incessantly accusing Tehran of trying to develop a nuclear weapons program. Russia and Iran reject accusations that Iran is seeking to develop a nuclear bomb, saying that Iranian nuclear technology is for peaceful civilian purposes such as electrical power generation. The conference declaration backed the right of Non-Proliferation Treaty members to "research, produce and use nuclear energy for peaceful ends, without discrimination, within the framework of this treaty and the mechanisms of the UN nuclear watchdog."

"Russia is the only country helping Iran to construct a nuclear power station for peaceful ends," Putin added, referring to the project to build Iran's first nuclear energy plant in Bushehr.

Meanwhile, George Bush made a televised speech where he declared "We've got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel," he said. "So I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon." Those appalling statements were hardly the words of an honest or mentally stable individual.

"The thing I'm interested in is whether or not President Putin continues to harbor the same concerns that I do." Bush has insisted that he wants a diplomatic solution to the Iranian issue, but is trying to force a third round of UN sanctions against Iran. Stepping up his outrageous rhetoric, Bush said a nuclear armed Iran would pose a "dangerous threat to world peace." There was no mention, however, of the more than 200 nuclear devices in possession of the State of Israel, a state which has declined to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

Vladimir Putin extends his hand in friendship and presents himself for dialogue and discussion. On the other hand, the empire’s despot makes doomsday pronouncements while avoiding and refusing to engage in honest dialogue or pursue a path of peaceful understanding. Bush prefers instead to make threats and to make accusations that are more likely based upon projections of his own diabolical thought processes. The world stands on the brink and it becomes all too apparent that the days ahead are fraught with danger.

Lisa KARPOVA

PRAVDA.Ru

USA/CANADA

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Author`s name Lisa Karpova
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