Sanctions against Iran possible: Medvedev

Asked whether Russia plans to sell any weapons to Iran, Medvedev gave an evasive answer.

“We will only supply weapons which are clearly defensive,” he said without elaboration. “We have no intention to supply offensive weapons.”

The Russian president also said that Russia and the United States have a good chance at signing a new nuclear arms reduction deal before year's end, but other nuclear powers must join disarmament efforts to move toward a nuclear-free world.

Medvedev told the German magazine Der Spiegel that the U.S.-Russian arms control talks have been going at a good pace. “We have every chance to agree on a new treaty, determine new (weapons) levels and control measures and sign a legally obliging document in the end of the year,” he said in remarks released by the Kremlin.

Moscow and Washington are negotiating a successor deal to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that expires on Dec. 5. Efforts to slash U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals have been a major part of President Barack Obama's push to “reset” relations with Russia, which became tense under the previous administration.

Russian and U.S. diplomats are set to launch another round of negotiations in Geneva on Monday. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman has voiced hope it would be conclusive.

While speaking optimistically on a new U.S.-Russian arms deal, Medvedev sounded less upbeat about the prospect of the complete abolition of nuclear weapons. President Barack Obama and Medvedev both said last April they were committed to the eventual goal of a nuclear-free world.

Medvedev told De Spiegel that other nuclear powers have been reluctant to join in disarmament efforts. “A nuclear-free world is our shared ideal for which we must aspire, but a road to that is difficult,” he said. “It takes not just the United States and Russia renouncing nuclear weapons, but other countries as well.”

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