KHARRAZI’S VISIT TO MOSCOW CANCELLED SINE DIE
MOSCOW 19 Feb. (IPS) Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi's visit to Moscow has been postponed "sine die", the official Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported Tuesday, quoting diplomatic sources in the Russian capital.
Though neither side gave any explanation for the unexpected and surprising postponement of the visit, but informed sources in Tehran told Iran Press Service that the venue had been cancelled by the Iranian side, angry and feeling humiliated as no audience with President Vladimir Putin was scheduled during Mr. Kharrazi’s visit.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said it would issue a statement later in the day while in Moscow, an. Iranian embassy official had said that Kharrazi's arrival in Moscow was delayed due to bad weather.
Itar-Tass cited "technical reasons" for the cancellation of the visit, announced hours before the departure of Mr. Kharrazi for Moscow, due on Monday, but observers said such formula in diplomatic jargon mean that the two sides have encountered major differences on a various of subjects.
Tehran had attached much importance to the visit, coming weeks after American President George W. Bush had described the Islamic Republic as forming an "axis of evil" alongside with Iraq and North Korea, three countries, Mr. Bush had said, work hard to acquire weapons of mass destruction.
Moscow is under heavy pressure from both Washington and Tel-Aviv for the construction of a 1000 Megawatts nuclear power plant at the Iranian port of Bushehr on the Persian Gulf, with America and Israel accusing Iran to need the plant for developing an atomic arsenal.
But Tehran and Moscow rejects the charges, observing that the one billion US Dollars plant, which is behind schedule, is for peaceful and civilian purposes and all works are conducted under the control of the Vienna-based International Atomic Agency.
Like the European Union, Russia also criticised Mr. Bush for placing Iran with Pyongyang and Baghdad into the same bag.
EU foreign ministers described Mr. Bush’s State of the Union speech on 29 January as "too simplistic" and warned Washington not to treat its European allies as "satellite states" of "yes men".
They are also opposing US plans for toppling the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in the one hand and Washington’s "blanc cheque" to Israeli hard-line Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in applying his "iron fist, all military" policy on the Palestinians.
In his last press conference held in Tehran on Sunday and as he was expecting to leave for Moscow, Mr. Kharrazi had described as "friendly and constructive" Iran-Russia ties, stressing that the tow sides would continue with their trade, military and nuclear co-operation.
A Russian diplomat refused to comment when asked by IPS to explain the reasons for the postponement of Mr. Kharrazi’s visit and to know that it was under pressures from Washington that President Putin had avoided meeting the visiting Iranian Foreign Minister, but confirmed that the two neighbours were supposed to discuss a number of economic projects as well as cooperation in such "sensitive areas" as nuclear power engineering and military-technical contacts.
But observers and diplomas both in Tehran and Moscow agreed however that the cancellation of the trip was a new blow for the government of President Mohammad Khatami.
The postponement, in particular, that the sides lacked time to fix a number of items on a wide-ranging agenda by the beginning of the visit.
The version presented by the Russians explaining the postponement is corroborated by the circumstance that time of the Iranian minister's arrival was repeatedly postponed over the past 24 hours, the Iranian official news agency observed.
A foreign-policy expert here has told Itar-Tass that the planned agenda for the talks must encompass a discussion of both the situation in Afghanistan and other regions and a review of the implementation of the accords reached during the Russo-Iranian summit in Moscow in March last year on military collaboration.
A meeting of the Caspian countries' Deputy Foreign Ministers, to be held in Moscow on February 26-28, may present the nearest opportunity for the sides to fix a date for the visit. ENDS KHARRAZI VISIT POSTPONED 19201.