Pakistan, North Korea bigger threat than Iran: Medvedev

Jerusalem, Nov 27 (ANI): Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said that Iran is not as great a threat to global security as other nuclear-proliferating countries such as North Korea and Pakistan.

Speaking to European Jewish leaders in a meeting in Moscow on Thursday, he said Russia would agree to additional actions against the regime in Teheran if negotiations over Iran's nuclear program fail to bear fruit, Jewish leaders who attended the meeting told The Jerusalem Post.

"It's clear Russia is concerned about the Iranian threat, but they do not see it as the greatest threat among other [nuclear] states, such as North Korea and Pakistan. Both President Medvedev and Foreign Minister [Sergei] Lavrov think North Korea represents a more actual and vivid threat to global security," said European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor after the meeting.

According to Kantor, Medvedev said he was always opposed to sanctions because they are ineffective, and said Russia is watching Iran very carefully.

The key point of disagreement between the Russian leaders and the Jewish representatives on Thursday was over the transfer to Iran of Russian-made S-300 surface-to-air missiles, which Israel fears would grant Teheran an effective air-defence capability against a possible Western or Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear installations. (ANI)