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MOSCOW, Oct 17 (Reuters): Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday brushed aside criticism of Moscow's support for Iran's nuclear energy programme, saying Russia will bow to no country.
"Iran, like any other country, has the full right to develop its peaceful nuclear energy," Lavrov said in an interview on state television.
He said no country had the right to stop Russia's support for a civilian nuclear reactor at Bushehr in Iran.
"No one, including the United States, will challenge our right to continue building the atomic electricity station in Bushehr," he added.
Some US officials have called on governments to freeze nuclear projects with Iran but others, such as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, have said they are not pushing Russia on the Bushehr plant.
Russia, one of the key players in the diplomatic moves around Iran's nuclear programme, has repeatedly sought to weaken Washington's attempts to bring Iran's case to the UN Security Council, which could impose sanctions.
Rice failed on Saturday to win Russia's support for referring Iran to the Council should the Islamic republic refuse to resume talks over its suspected nuclear arms programmes.
Rice flew to Moscow on a surprise visit to press President Vladimir Putin to commit to backing a referral, which implies the potential for international sanctions, if Iran continued to defy the west, diplomats said.
Putin was unmoved and reaffirmed Russia's position that the UN nuclear watchdog agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should deal with Iran, a position Lavrov underlined in his interview.
"Iran agreed to work with the IAEA. It is very important that the agency is prepared to continue its work," Lavrov said.
Russian foreign minister further said Washington will no longer need military bases in Central Asia once the "terrorist menace" coming from Afghanistan wanes.
"The terrorist menace coming from Afghanistan still exists, but there is no more need for active military actions," Lavrov said Sunday on the Rossiya television channel.
"As this threat diminishes, it would be correct to return to the former state of affairs," Lavrov argued, adding that "there would be no necessity for a base there anymore."
Some 1,000 US troops are stationed at a former Soviet air base at Uzbekistan's Karshi-Khanabad, a major staging area for US troops during the US war that drove the Taliban from power in Afghanistan in 2001, US officials said.
The United States uses the base to support US forces in Afghanistan, and has begun building barracks and office buildings there that are designed for long term use, according to the US contractor.
The Manas airport in Kyrgyzstan is also used by Washington since 2001.
The United States has assured Russia that it will leave the bases as soon as the Afghan campaign is completed. But it has refused to give any specific timeframe.
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