Russian officials told visiting Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin last week that they would go ahead with plans to sell nuclear reactors to Iran.
Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev told Rabin on Thursday that the technology involved was a peaceful nature and that the sale was well within the bounds of international law.
Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, in a meeting with Rabin later in the day, repeated the stance, adding that the sale would not threaten Israeli security.
During his meetings with Russian officials, Rabin asked them to use their ties with Iran to try to elicit information from Tehran on the fate of Israeli POWs.
On Wednesday, Rabin paid a state visit to Ukraine. It was the first visit there by a Jewish leader since the fall of the Soviet Union.
During his visit, Israel and Ukraine signed an agreement on military cooperation, as well as separate agreements on agriculture, trade and customs.
Rabin reportedly told Ukrainian officials the Israeli aid to the country would be conditioned of Ukraine’s halting its nuclear ties to Iran.
While in Ukraine, Rabin visited Babi Yar, where an estimated 34,000 Jews were killed by the Nazis and local Ukrainians in September 1941.
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