Russia and Iran will work on resumption of six-party talks, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian news agencies on Saturday after President Vladimir Putin met Iran's nuclear envoy.
"There is an agreement that our contacts will be continued and, of course, we will work on achieving our common goal - resumption of six-party talks," Lavrov was quoted by the agencies as saying. Moscow had hoped to find a resolution to the Iranian nuclear crisis during the so far two-day visit by Tehran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani.
Western nations accuse Iran of trying secretly to build an atomic arsenal, but Iran says it has the right to enrich uranium and wants only to generate electricity. On Friday, Larijani said after meeting senior Russian officials that Iran would review relations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) if the UN Security Council adopted a European draft resolution imposing sanctions.
The EU Draft resolution demands nations prevent the sale and supply of equipment, technology and financing contributing to Iran's nuclear and ballistic missiles programmes. Russia, one of Iran's main trading partners, wants parts of the European draft deleted while the United States wants stronger language inserted.