US Secretary of State urges Russia to delay launching Iran’s nuclear plant

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Clinton urges Russia to delay Iran’s nuclear plant

MOSCOW — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has urged Russia to delay launching Iran’s nuclear plant until Tehran proves that it’s not pursuing atomic weapons.

Clinton made the statement Thursday when asked about Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s statement that Iran’s first nuclear reactor is set to be launched this summer.

Clinton said Iran is entitled to civil atomic energy, but added that it would be premature to go forward with any nuclear project when Tehran has yet to prove the peaceful nature of its program.

The U.S. and other nations are concerned that Iran has been trying to secretly develop nuclear weapons.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov responded that Russia still intends to launch the plant in the Iranian port city of Bushehr. Both spoke after their talks in Moscow.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

MOSCOW (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that Washington and Moscow are making “substantial progress” in negotiating a replacement pact to an expired treaty on limiting their strategic nuclear arsenals.

Clinton spoke in Moscow during a two-day visit for talks on a range of international issues, after a one-on-one meeting with her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

The long-awaited replacement to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty — which expired Dec. 5 — is a pillar of the so-called reset in relations between the Cold War foes.

President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, called for a quick signing at their Moscow summit in July, but negotiations stalled over such issues as counting methods, verification procedures and U.S. plans for a missile defense system in Europe.

Teams of negotiators from both countries have been hammering out a new pact over the last months in Switzerland.

“We are making substantial progress on the new START treaty. The word from our negotiators in Geneva and the results from the latest negotiating rounds lead us to believe we will be reaching a final agreement soon.”

Some observers say Russia and the U.S. want a deal reached before nonproliferation conferences in the United States in April and May.

Lavrov said there was every reason to believe “we have entered the final straight.”

Clinton was to take part in a meeting of the so-called Quartet of Mideast peacemakers set to hold formal talks on Friday, and is also to see Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in a previously unannounced schedule change.