Sputnik News- The reported claims of British officials about the involvement of Iran and Russia in the development of North Korea�s nuclear program are groundless, Russian security expert Anton Khlopkov said. According to him, by making such allegations, London is taking advantage of the current "anti-Russian atmosphere."




Talking to�Sputnik Iran, Khlopkov, director of�the Energy and Security Center think-tank, said that the British government wants to�shed responsibility since�it has not been actively involved in�the settlement of�the Korean crisis.

"In such context, London is seeking a guilty party, instead of�taking practical diplomatic steps," he said.

Khlopkov maintained that it wouldn�t be surprising if no evidence was found to�back up�British allegations.
"The North Korean nuclear crisis poses a direct threat to�Russia�s security. The allegations made by�our British colleagues about�Russia�s involvement in�Pyongyang�s nuclear programare surprisingly baseless. � London will not provide any evidence. Russia has repeatedly been accused of�breaching its obligations, but�without providing any facts and evidence. But taking into�account the current anti-Russian atmosphere, people in�the West would easily buy into�such claims," the expert pointed out.


Earlier, The Sunday Telegraph�reported, citing unnamed government sources that British officials believe that Pyongyang�s progress in�developing nuclear weapons may be due to�some sort of "secret" assistance from�Iran, while Russia is also in�the spotlight.

The UK is one of�the signatories to�the Iranian final nuclear deal. On July 14, 2015,�Iranand the P5+1 group of�countries, comprising the US, Russia, China, France and the UK plus Germany, signed the�Joint Comprehensive Plan of�Action�(JCPOA), ensuring the peaceful nature of�Tehran's nuclear program in�exchange for�sanctions relief. The plan came into�force on�January 16, 2016.

Since the deal was signed, London has been actively helping implement the agreement, citing that Iran�s nuclear program is of�a�peaceful nature. What could�ve provoked such a change of�heart?

Khlopkov suggested that the United States is likely involved in�this situation. London does not want to�confront Washington and has to�play a politically-biased game against�Iran.
"First, Iran has repeatedly been accused of�exporting� nuclear technologies to�a foreign country. Iran is a hot topic and such allegations always make headlines. Moreover, it is clear that the US administration is increasing�pressure on�Tehran. This is another misinformation campaign against�Iran. But it also a pretext for�a new round�of media pressure on�Russia. However, I�m sure that London doesn�t have evidence to�these claims," Khlopkov said.