Putin not deterred from Iran visit by reported assassination plot
Last Updated: Monday, October 15, 2007 | 10:04 AM ET
CBC News
Related
Russian President Vladimir Putin refused to let reports of a possible assassination attempt deter him from travelling to Iran, saying if he paid heed to all such threats he would "never leave home."
Putin said Monday he would proceed with the long-planned visit with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, seen at a Russian-German conference on Monday, says he won't let a reported assassination plot keep him from visiting Iran.
(Daniel Roland/Associated Press)
"Of course I am going to Iran," Putin said at a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel following talks with her in Germany. "If I always listened to all the various threats and the recommendations of the special services, I would never leave home."
The Kremlin said Sunday that suicide bombers planned to carry out an assassination in Iran during Putin's visit there this week.
Iranian officials called reports of a plot false information spread by those seeking to ruin relations with Russia.
The trip to Tehran was planned to discuss issues affecting states bordering on the Caspian Sea, but will likely also focus on Iran's disputed nuclear program.
Russia is building Iran's first nuclear plant despite suspicions by some Western countries that the material may be used by Iran to build nuclear weapons.
The U.S. has pushed for stronger sanctions against Tehran. While Moscow has urged Iran to comply with international controls on its nuclear program, Russia has also been dragging its feet on the plant's completion.
Putin has underlined the need to solve the problem "through peaceful measures."
Putin's trip to Tehran has been repeatedly postponed as has the launch of the nuclear plant in the southern port of Bushehr.
Russia said early this year the plant wouldn't be launched this fall as planned because Iran was slow in making payments.
Iranian officials denied any payment arrears and accused the Kremlin of caving into pressure from the West.
During the visit to Iran, Putin is set to meet with Ahmadinejad and attend Tuesday's summit of Caspian Sea nations.
Putin is the first Kremlin leader to travel to Iran since Josef Stalin attended the 1943 wartime summit with Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
With files from the Associated PressShare Tools
Top News Headlines
- Drummond report on Ontario calls for cutbacks
- The Ontario government must curtail its spending with the kind of cuts not seen since the Mike Harris years, according to a report by former TD Bank chief economist Don Drummond. more »
- Children of immigrants challenged at school, home
- By 2016, foreign-born youth and Canadian-born youth from immigrant families will make up a quarter of the country's population, according to predictions by the Canadian Council on Social Development. As their numbers grow, more attention is being paid to their successes and failures. more »
- B.C. house party trial hears from tearful teens
- Two teenagers cried as they testified at the trial of a B.C. woman who was charged after a teen died while her son was hosting a party at her house in 2008. more »
- Whitney Houston funeral to be livestreamed
- Whitney Houston's funeral will be livestreamed, to satisfy the desire of fans to grieve alongside family members at the Saturday memorial. more »
Latest World News Headlines
- Syria's Assad calls for vote but steps up assault
- As Syrian forces stepped up their assault on rebellious cities, President Bashar al-Assad ordered a referendum on a new constitution that would create a multiparty system in a country that has been ruled by his autocratic family dynasty for 40 years. more »
- Honduras prison fire kills hundreds
- A fire started by an inmate tore through a severely overcrowded Honduran prison, burning and suffocating inmates in their locked cells and killing as many as 356 people in one of the world's deadliest prison fires in a century, authorities said Wednesday. more »
- Malnutrition kills 2 million kids a year
- Five children around the world die every minute because of chronic malnutrition, according to a new report. more »
- Whitney Houston's funeral to be held Saturday
- Pop star Whitney Houston's funeral service will be held Saturday in the New Jersey church where she first showcased her singing talents as a child. more »
- Syria oil pipeline blast
- An explosion hit a major oil pipeline feeding a refinery in Homs, Syria, on Wednesday, witnesses say. The blast struck the pipeline near a district being shelled by government troops. more »
Dispatches »
- Syrian refugees' defiance and division Feb. 14, 2012 4:48 PM With the deadly game in Syria changing almost daily, CBC's Derek Stoffel in Turkey met militant refugees who reflect the division in the rebel forces about whether to go it alone or wait for the international community to back them against the current regime.
Connect Newsroom Blog
Second Chances, Lin-sanity & Nanaimo Love Feb. 14, 2012 5:55 PM Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks are in Toronto tonight and we're going to find out what all the fuss is about.
- Drummond report on Ontario calls for cutbacks
- Barefoot girl's icy trek not blamed on babysitter
- Immigrants the proudest Canadians, poll suggests
- 2 NDP MPs back final Commons vote to kill gun registry
- Honduras prison fire kills hundreds
- Canadian housing market cools in January
- Bodyguard hired for bully victim in Fredericton
- Legalize pot, say former B.C. attorneys general
- Russians' abusive plane tirade to cost them $19K
