US describes Ahmadinejad claims as ``abhorrent and delusional``

UNITED NATIONS, September 24 (Itar-Tass) -- The United States
described claims by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about alleged
government involvement in 9/11 terrorist attacks as "abhorrent and
delusional".
"Rather than representing the aspirations and goodwill of the Iranian
people, Mr. Ahmadinejad has yet again chosen to spout vile conspiracy
theories and anti-Semitic slurs that are as abhorrent and delusional as
they are predictable", spokesman of the U.S. mission to the United
Nations Mark Kornblau said in a statement on Thursday.
The U.S. delegation left the U.N. General Assembly in protest against
accusations voiced by Ahmadinejad who claimed the terrorist attacks on
September 11, 2001 against World Trade Center twin towers in New York
could have been orchestrated by the U.S. government.
In his speech to the General Assembly Ahmadinejad alleged "some
segments within the U.S. government orchestrated the attack to reverse the
declining American economy, and its grips on the Middle East, in order to
save the Zionist regime."
"The majority of the American people as well as most nations and
politicians around the world agree with this view," he claimed.

.Lavrov sees signs of Iran's readiness to resume talks.

NEW YORK, September 24 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov said on Thursday there are signs that Iran will seriously consider
the call of six powers to resume the talks on its nuclear program.
"The signal to Iran about the necessity to seriously treat the
proposals of the world community and close all existing questions to its
nuclear program and cooperate with the IAEA without any withdrawals has
been numerously sent. Today we can hope the signal has been heard. There
are signs that Tehran is seriously considering our (six party) proposals,"
he told Russian reporters on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.


.Lavrov calls for political conflict resolution.

UNITED NATIONS, September 24 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov said conflicts cannot be resolved through the use of force
and cited the Georgian attack on South Ossetia in 2008 as an example.
Conflicts shall be resolved "politically and diplomatically by
involving all parties into negotiations and without isolating anyone. In
August 2008 we could see what unilateral violation of agreed peacekeeping
formats and the use of force can lead to," he told a UN Security Council
meeting on Thursday.
Lavrov said most efforts should target conflict prevention. He called
"not to save on investments - both material and intellectual - into early
conflict prevention, as well as into the strengthening of the UN potential
in the sphere of preventive diplomacy and mediation."
"It is common knowledge that conflict prevention is much cheaper than
their settlement," Lavrov said.
The Russian minister said the international community should take into
account the interests and priorities of the countries in conflict and
refrain from imposing assistance.
"Modern conflicts demand complex strategies and comprehensive
solutions based on the unity of goals, predictability of their material,
technical and financial provision, efficient combination of civilian or
military stabilization efforts, close coordination in regional context,
and maximum engagement of the potential of regional organizations," he
said.
"It is important not to duplicate efforts and avoid competition. It is
on this basis that we develop cooperation of the United Nations with the
CSTO and SCO," he said.
Russian peacekeepers operate in various parts of the globe and Moscow
is rendering considerable material and transportation support to UN
peacekeepers.
Lavrov recalled Russia is annually contributing two million dollars to
the peace-building fund and "intends to increase its practical
contribution to peacekeeping and peace-building activities."

.Bushehr start-up to proceed as scheduled.

MOSCOW, September 24 (Itar-Tass) -- The start-up of Bushehr nuclear
power plant in Iran will proceed as scheduled as the facility is not
subject to U.N. sanctions imposed on Tehran, according to an official of
the Russian Rosatom nuclear agency.
"The work to start up the facility will go according to the schedule
agreed with the Iranian side," Sergei Novikov, an aide to Rosatom's
director general, told Tass on Thursday.
Also on Thursday foreign policy aide of the Russian president Sergei
Prikhodko said the decree of Dmitry Medvedev restricting cooperation with
Iran did not affect Bushehr.
"The decree does not impose restrictions on Bushehr. The NPP is
entirely under the control of the IAEA, and nobody has any questions about
it," Prikhodko said adding the decree translated the UN Security Council's
resolution into Russian legislation. "This is not a new step, but a
gesture of compliance with a political decision taken within the United
Nations framework," he said.
Novikov said Russian experts are arranging the first criticality of
the facility and nuclear fuel is being loaded into the reactor.
Rosatom's chief Sergei Kiriyenko earlier said the facility in Bushehr
will become operational by the end of the year.
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