NEWS, 26.05.2012.

I made Russia a freer country: Medvedev

 

President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that Russia had become a freer nation during his four-year term, citing the mass protests of recent months as evidence of change."Spring has come to us, both literally and figuratively. I congratulate you," Medvedev said in a live television interview, his last before he hands the presidency back to Vladimir Putin."Freedom," Medvedev sighed and smiled, "is such a unique feeling that everyone interprets differently."Freedom is a sense of self. And in this sense we've done a lot," he told a group of liberal journalists,who are usually sidelined for their sceptical stance towards the government.Medvedev's political mentor Putin, who became his prime minister after being barred by the constitution from serving more than two successive presidential terms, announced plans in September to return to the Kremlin in a job swap with his close ally.That announcement coupled with fraud-tainted parliamentary polls in December led to the largest protests since the Soviet era, when tens of thousands rallied in Moscow protesting Putin's comeback.Protests lose stingBoth Medvedev and Putin have in the past sought to stress that the protests were the hallmark of a democratic society, and introduced cosmetic political reforms that many analysts called a concession to protesters."Let's ask people who took to various squares whether they are free or not," Medvedev said."It is not important who they support: 'the white', 'the red' or 'the blue'. I am absolutely confident that the overwhelming majority of them will say: 'Yes, I am free because I stand here, I have my own position, I do not like a lot, or on the contrary, I like practically everything, don't you dare touch it. I am free'.""The current accelerated movement towards democracy will not lead to chaos," Medvedev added. "Society has matured."The nascent protest movement has lost much of its sting since Putin's crushing 4 March presidential victory, although it still hopes to muster another major demonstration in Moscow the day before Putin's 7 May inauguration.Medvedev defended his decision to cede the country's top job which has earned him mockery from the liberal opposition and many ordinary Russians calling him a mere seat-warmer incapable of promoting true reform.Hunger strike"We've achieved the political results we were hoping for," said Medvedev, who expects to be appointed prime minister when Putin moves back to the Kremlin."The decisions that were announced in September have been confirmed by political practice and it, as we know, is a criterion of truth.""We've thought it all up not to warm ourselves up but to receive a concrete political result. And we've received it, we've received a mandate to rule," he said.But the outgoing president also spoke disparagingly of the recent 40-day hunger strike by opposition politician Oleg Shein in the southern city of Astrakhan in protest at alleged violations in mayoral elections that he contested."I do not blame anyone. But 'Hunger Games' - I will remind you, is a rather mediocre Hollywood blockbuster, I don't know whether you've watched it or not, I have - whoever does it very often pursues a very obvious political goal."He defended his presidential decisions including the sacking of governors and the reform of the bloated police force, reiterating that Russia's most prominent prisoner Mikhail Khodorkovsky would not be allowed to walk free unless he asked for pardon."Without a request there cannot be a review. This is my firm position."Once Russia's richest man, Khodorkovsky is set to stay in jail until 2016 after being convicted in two fraud trials in what his supporters say is a case of personal vendetta on the part of Putin.

 

Iran: Enriched uranium traces a 'technical issue'

 

A top Iranian nuclear negotiator said that traces of enriched uranium discovered at an underground bunker came from a "routine technical issue," the country's official IRNA news agency reported Saturday.Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Tehran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, was responding to a report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog that said it had found radioactive traces at an Iranian nuclear site. The uranium found had been enriched to a level that is slightly closer to the threshold needed for nuclear weapons than Iran's previous highest-known enrichment grade.The IAEA said in the confidential report obtained Friday by The Associated Press that it was asking Tehran for a full explanation about the traces. But the report was careful to avoid any suggestion that Iran was intentionally increasing the level of its uranium enrichment.Tehran said the find was a technical glitch, according to the report. Analysts and diplomats said Iran's version sounded plausible.The West suspects Iran is pursuing a weapons program. Tehran denies the charge, saying its nuclear program is aimed at peaceful purposes like power generation and cancer treatment.Soltanieh said the report on Iran's nuclear activities was "historic evidence" that proved the peaceful nature of Iranian nuclear activities, while the uranium discovery was blown out of proportion for political reasons."This issue shows that some intend to damage the existing constructive cooperation between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency," he was quoted as saying.The higher the enrichment, the easier it becomes to re-enrich uranium to the 90 percent needed for weapons grade. As a result, the finding of traces at 27 percent at the Fordo enrichment plant in central Iran sparked international interest.Iran denies any plans to develop nuclear weapons, but has for years declined offers of reactor fuel from abroad, including more recent inducements of 20-percent material if it stops Aproducing at that level. The Islamic Republic says it wants to continue producing 20 percent uranium to fuel its research reactor and for medical purposes.But its refusal to accept foreign offers has increased fears Tehran may want to turn its enrichment activities toward producing such arms. The concerns have been fed by IAEA suspicions that Iran has experimented on components of an atomic arms program — suspicions Tehran also denies.The report cited a May 9 letter from Iranian officials suggesting any enrichment at 27 percent was inadvertent. The letter said the particles were produced "above the target value" and could have been for "technical reasons beyond the operator's control."But the IAEA report did detail some progress in talks between the U.N. nuclear agency and Iran that the agency hopes will relaunch a long-stalled probe into the suspicions that Tehran has worked on nuclear-weapons related experiments.Amano will handover the report on Iran's nuclear activities to the board of directors of the agency later in June.IRNA also reported that Iran's nuclear chief, Fereidoun Abbasi, said Saturday that Tehran will not open the Parchin site until the agency convinces the country it is necessary."If a visit to Parchin is to happen, they should convince us in advance. So far, no reason and evidence has been handed to us," Abbas was quoted as saying.After a short visit to Tehran last week, Amano said Iran and the agency will sign an agreement on inspection to the site, soon.