MOSCOW — Russia has reacted with quiet irritation to a tough Senate vote for sanctions to stop Moscow from allowing the export of missile technology to Iran.
"Russia's cooperation with Iran fully complies with International Atomic Energy Agency regulations, and they have not complained about Russia violating its obligations," said Vladimir Rakhmanin, head of the press department at the Foreign Ministry.
A ministry statement added: "The common and highly important objective of preventing the spread of dangerous technologies is in fact being replaced with an attempt to hamper legitimate economic ties with states that Washington finds disagreeable."
The Russian displeasure came after the Senate's Friday vote--an overwhelming 90-4 endorsement of sanctions--struck the latest blow to already faltering relations between Washington and Moscow.
American discontent focuses on two issues:
* Russia's insistence on trading with Iran and other nations frowned on by the U.S.
* The Russian parliament's failure to ratify the long-delayed START II nuclear weapons treaty negotiated by Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin and former President Bush. Clinton refuses to visit Russia until it approves START II, which would slash the two nations' long-range nuclear weapons.
Russia also openly wants to sell up to four nuclear reactors to Iran, its longtime ally. Moscow's Atomic Energy Ministry wants to expand this sale with a new research reactor. Russian officials say testily that Moscow has no interest in state-sanctioned nuclear proliferation.
But U.S. lawmakers fear Russia's many cash-strapped defense research institutes may also be sneaking out missile technology to Iranian clients. They point to the March 22 seizure, on the Azerbaijan-Iran border, of a shipment of 22 tons of Russian nuclear ballistic missile parts bound for Iran as an example of the kind of mischief they want to stop.
The White House, which has been trying gentler tactics to persuade Russian lawmakers to ratify START II and says it is making "considerable progress" at warming up ties, showed irritation at the senators. "I would hope that more members of the Senate would have been mindful of that as they cast their votes," said White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry.
A presidential veto of the legislation, which still has to have minor details ironed out, seems likely; given the strength of Friday's vote in favor of sanctions, though, any veto could easily be overridden.
