Source: Pro et Contra
This article orginally appeared in Russian in "The Power of Oil and Gas" edition of the Pro et Contra journal (Volume 10, No. 2-3, 2006), published by the Carnegie Moscow Center.
The reasons for Russia and the United States to cooperate extend beyond their mutual interest in the expansion of nuclear power to a broader strategic goal: dissuading Iran from becoming a nuclear weapon state. Indeed, their interests are also engaged here, for if Iran continues to insist that the only way to express its right to peaceful nuclear energy is through an enrichment program, then it will be impossible to expand nuclear power in a proliferation-resistant manner. If other countries follow Iran 's lead, then the acquisition of nuclear power will become the direct doorway to nuclear weapons programs around the world. This, in turn, would spell the death of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the nonproliferation regime that it underpins.
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