Moscow - Western officials are trying to blackmail Russia into dramatic foreign policy changes by linking vital financial aid to shifts in Moscow's stance on everything from Iran to missile defence, a spokesman for the economy chief, Mr Yury Maslyukov, told AFP news agency yesterday.
The official, Mr Anton Surikov, said that in order to get the International Monetary Fund's seal of approval, Russia was being urged to break off all forms of co-operation with Iran.
The western officials, according to Mr Surikov, were "not European and not Asian".