Russia, Iran To Hold More Nuke Talks

Iran Tries To Avoid Threat Of International Sanctions

(AP)  Russian and Iranian officials agreed Monday to hold more talks on Moscow's offer to enrich uranium for Tehran, a compromise proposal considered a final opportunity for the Islamic regime to avoid the threat of international sanctions over its nuclear program.

The office of presidential Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov, who hosted the Iranian delegation, issued a terse statement that the Russian and Iranian negotiators had agreed to continue talks, several news agencies reported. The statement did not elaborate.

The ITAR-Tass news agency said the Iranian delegation was expected to leave Moscow on Tuesday. Calls to the Iranian Embassy in Moscow went unanswered Monday evening.

In Brussels, Belgium, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said talks with Iran's foreign minister failed to make progress in resolving the West's standoff with the Islamic republic over its nuclear program.

Solana said Iran's "substantive position has not changed."

Speaking after a 90-minute meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Solana said, "They have to be much more constructive."

The Russian offer, backed by the United States and Europe, was widely seen as the last chance for Iran to address the West's concerns before a March 6 meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, which could start a process leading to punishment before the U.N. Security Council.

The council has the power to impose economic and political sanctions.

"We have a serious problem (in Iran), therefore it was the right step to bring it to the security council," said Former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer. "This is a very, what I think, serious challenge and the unity of the international community is crucial."

But Iran has adamantly defended its right to maintain a domestic enrichment program, seen by the United States and other Western nations as a cover-up for a suspected weapons program.

Before the Moscow talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sought to lower expectations.

"Honestly speaking, we have modest expectations, but we will make every effort to avoid an escalation of the situation and the use of force," Lavrov told a government meeting chaired by President Vladimir Putin in televised comments.