Netanyahu, Sharon fail to convince Russia to stop nuclear aid to Iran

Israeli Radio's correspondent in Moscow said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon failed to convince the Russian government to stop providing aid to Iran in the nuclear field and in missiles.

The correspondent added that Netanyahu proposed to his Russian counterpart, Yevgeny Primakov, during the meeting held on Monday attended by Sharon and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, several economic deals between the two sides, including Russia's construction of a railway network and tunnels in Israel and Israeli purchases of oil and gas from Russia, against Russia's consent to minimize its aid to Iran.

The report added, quoting well-informed sources in the Israeli delegation, that the Russian government has no intention of that as the Russian prime minister did not give a clear reply to the Israeli proposal.

The correspondent quoted Netanyahu as saying in a joint press conference with Primakov held following the meeting that according to information available to Israel, Iran does not yet own a missile that can hit Israel. Netanyahu added that Israel will continue its efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining weapons of mass destruction.

Primakov, said that his country provides aid to Iran in the nuclear spheres, but is committed to international obligations to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.