Russia has condemned US Vice President Joe Biden’s remarks suggesting Washington’s go-ahead for an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites.
“We are very surprised at these remarks by US Vice President Biden,” Ria Novosti quoted Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Andrei Nesterenko as saying.
“As we see, they are drastically out of line with the approaches that US President Barack Obama is declaring regarding the Iranian nuclear program, in particular, on the US readiness to enter a dialogue with Iran,” he added.
In an interview broadcast with ABC on Sunday, Biden said that the US would not stand in the way of Israel if it chose to take military action against the Iranian nuclear program.
“Israel can determine for itself… what’s in their interest and what they decide to do relative to Iran and anyone else,” Biden said.
“We cannot dictate to another sovereign nation what they can and cannot do when they make a determination — if they make a determination — that they’re existentially threatened.”
The remarks were widely interpreted as a long-awaited US consent for Israel to wage a new war in the Middle East by launching airstrikes on the distant and fortified nuclear installations in Iran.
Iran says its activities are in line with its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and are aimed at the civilian applications of the technology.
Israel, the possessor of the sole nuclear arsenal in the Middle East, accuses Iran of pursuing a military nuclear program aimed at destabilizing the region and attacking Israel.
Earlier on Tuesday, Obama vehemently denied that the US had given a green light to Israel to launch an attack on Iran.
He said his administration seeks to resolve the Iranian issue “through diplomatic channels.”
“We can’t dictate to other countries what their security interests are,” said Obama, referring to continuous Israeli threats to attack Iran.
“What is also true is, it is the policy of the United States to try to resolve the issue of Iran’s nuclear capabilities,” he expounded.
