Russia must stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin on Monday told Mikhail Margelov, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council of Russia.

Margelov and a delegation of Russian senators visited the Knesset for a joint meeting with the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Rivlin told the group that Iran sees Israel as the symbol of Islam’s war with the West, and that the world must take Tehran’s threats seriously.

He added that a nuclear Iran is a danger not only for Israel, but for the entire world.

“I have no doubt that Russia has the power to stop Iran’s nuclear armament,” Rivlin said. “Even if there is an economic price, you cannot aid Islamic fundamentalists who say they seek to erase Israel from the map.”

Committee chairman Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) said that Israel is unsatisfied with Russia’s policies on Iran and it must make a change.

Mofaz also discussed Syria, saying that President Bashar Assad massacres the country’s citizens daily and his rule is coming to an end. He expressed concern about weapons being sent from Russia to Syria, which he said harms Israel’s security, and called on Russia to protect the regional balance of power.

Margelov responded that terror and fundamentalism put the whole world in danger, and that Russia does not want a nuclear Iran. At the same time, he said “Eastern chess is just as important as the West’s punches,” in reference to his country’s refusal to sanction Tehran. (© 1995-2011, The Jerusalem Post 02/28/12)