A nuclear-armed Iran is 'not an option for Russia', a top Russian diplomat said in an interview published Wednesday, voicing concern at progress made by Tehran in its nuclear drive.
"We are concerned that the distance that separates Iran from the hypothetical possession of technologies to create nuclear weapons is contracting," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.
"The Iranian side is indeed making progress in its nuclear programme," he told the specialised journal Security Index in the interview released by the foreign ministry on its website on Wednesday.
It was not clear when the interview was conducted and no reference was made to Iran's latest announcement on Wednesday that it has built new uranium enrichment centrifuges and was producing its own nuclear reactor fuel plates.
Russia has long refused to back explicit Western claims that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons but Ryabkov admitted that Moscow was increasingly concerned by the pace of its progress.
"For Russia this situation is arguably more disquieting than for many other countries," he said.
"We are situated in the immediate proximity of Iran, and a nuclear-armed Iran is not an option for Russia."
Western nations, which accuse Tehran of seeking a covert nuclear weapons capability, have ramped up economic sanctions against Iran over the past three months alongside UN Security Council measures.
Tehran insists its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes. Russia has always insisted that the Iranian nuclear dispute should be resolved through diplomacy and vehemently warned against military action.