It is premature to say that diplomatic efforts aimed at defusing tensions over Iran's nuclear programme have failed, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.
"I would say that it is premature to say that these efforts have not been crowned with success," Lavrov said, referring to the international push to get Iran to sign off on a UN-mediated uranium enrichment plan.
"We are working for the agreements that were reached last month in Vienna... to be fully implemented, and we are aiming all of our efforts precisely at this," Lavrov told reporters in Moscow.
Lavrov refused to set a deadline for Iran to sign off on the plan, which was negotiated in Vienna in October under the auspices of the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The plan, under which Iran would send its low-enriched uranium to Russia for further enrichment, is seen as a potential way out of the standoff.
Iran has yet to give a clear response on the IAEA plan and has come under mounting pressure from the international community to comply with it.
Russia's position on the issue has been closely watched because of Moscow's strong ties with Iran and because Russian support would be needed for any fresh round of UN sanctions against Tehran.
As a permanent, veto-holding member of the UN Security Council, Russia has the power to block new sanctions, and President Dmitry Medvedev has hinted recently that Moscow may back new sanctions if the negotiations fail.
Medvedev said last weekend that Russia was "not completely happy" with the pace of Iran's response, following talks with US President Barack Obama, who has been courting Moscow for support on the Iran issue.
On Monday, Russia announced a delay in the start-up of Iran's first nuclear power plant, which Russian technicians are building in the southern Iranian city of Bushehr despite Western criticism of the project
Lavrov said on Tuesday that the Bushehr delay was not related to the situation surrounding the nuclear talks.
"There is no link between what is happening in the talks with Iran on the Iranian nuclear programme and the matter of the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant," Lavrov said.
The United States, the European Union and Israel fear that Iran is seeking to build an atomic bomb under the guise of its civilian nuclear programme, but Iran denies the charges and says the programme is purely peaceful in nature.
Copyright 2009 AFP Global Edition
