Russia calls US-Polish conf. on Iran 'counterproductive'

Addressing the UN Security Council, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said the conference would fail to bolster Middle East security because of its "one-country aspect" and failure to address the Palestinian issue.

"Why has that conference not invited Iran, which is one of the most significant and large countries in the region?" France 24 quoted Nebenzia as asking during a Council debate on the situation in the Middle East.

"Attempts to create some kind of military alliances in the region by holding conferences and focusing on having a simplified unilateral approach that is clearly linked just to Iran are counterproductive," Nebenzia said.

Such a move "just further pushes away the prospects of finding a genuine security architecture for the region," he added.

Meanwhile, Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz was quoted as saying that Russia had informed the European country that it would not take part in the conference.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had said his country has “big doubts” that the US-organized anti-Iran conference in Poland would solve the problems of the Middle East region.

A political delegation from Poland headed by the deputy foreign minister arrived in Tehran on Monday to hold talks with Iranian officials over the European country’s decision to host the conference.

During the meeting, the Iranian side said the hosting of the conference by Poland was ‘unacceptable’, warning the Polish government about its consequences and real intention of the US government.

Speaking to AFP, the Polish diplomat described the talks as "constructive", claiming that "for Poland this conference is not against any country.”

The anti-Iran conference is set to be jointly hosted by the US and Poland on February 13-14 in Warsaw.

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