Russia opposes Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons but insists it has the right to use peaceful nuclear technology for power generation, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Saturday.

"Russia, as a civilized nation, is against the acquisition of nuclear weapons by Iran, or by any other country that is not a member of the nuclear club," the Russian defense minister said on NTV television Saturday night.

Ivanov, however, repeated the Russian position on Iran's nuclear rights.

"I am convinced that Iran has the right to use the benefits of nuclear power generation. Of course, military nuclear programs are a totally different matter," Ivanov said.

The UN nuclear watchdog has not found Iran "is running any covert programs, or is building infrastructure for creating nuclear weapons in the future," he said. "This is an objective reality."

The United States accuses Iran of seeking nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear program. Iran, however, says its nuclear program is dedicated exclusively to power generation.

Germany, France and Britain, representing the European Union (EU), had been negotiating with Iran to persuade it to scrap uranium enrichment, but the talks collapsed after Iran ended a freeze on uranium conversion in August.

The EU trio have warned of hauling Iran before the UN Security Council for possible sanctions. If they do, Iran has said, it would not back down.

In the NTV interview, Ivanov also proposed forming security forces in the Caspian Sea to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

"It would be appropriate to form security forces in the Caspian Sea in charge of maintaining law and order and preventing the transportation of weapons of mass destruction and their components. Theoretically, such a threat exists," Ivanov said.

Source: Xinhua