Alexander Sadovnikov's comments came a day after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Tehran that world powers had limited patience as Iran dilly-dallied over offering a categorical response to the proposal.

"This is not to trick Iran in order to take its low-enriched uranium out of its hands," Sadovnikov, Moscow's ambassador to Tehran, said in an interview with the official IRNA news agency.

"We believe that reaching this agreement and signing the technical contract to produce fuel for the Tehran reactor is beneficial to Iran and will help in resolving the nuclear issue," he said.

The deal if approved will see Iran's low-enriched uranium (LEU) sent to Moscow for further enrichment and conversion into fuel, whereafter it will be returned for use in the Tehran reactor which is monitored constantly by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

But the proposed agreement has been facing stiff opposition from top Iranian officials who say it is a Western sleight of hand aimed at getting the Islamic republic to suspend its uranium enrichment work.

Western powers led by Washington suspect Iran's uranium enrichment drive is aimed at making weapons, a charge strongly denied by Tehran.

Sadovnikov said Tehran's nuclear controversy lacks "complete transparency" and must be quickly resolved, but added any more sanctions against Iran to halt the galloping atomic programme was not the right approach.

"We agree with the opinion of our partners in the group of six who believe that Iran's nuclear programme, especially in some issues related to its past nuclear activities, lacks complete transparency," Sadovnikov said.

Russia, and five other world powers -- Britain, France, China, Germany and the United States -- are engaged in high-profile talks with Tehran to allay concerns over its atomic programme.

US President Barack Obama, angry after Tehran recently disclosed it was building a second uranium enrichment facility, has indicated that if Iran does not come clean on its nuclear programme it could face a new round of sanctions.

Russia, however, "believes that negotiations must be approached from a calculated position without threats and scare," Sadovnikov said.

"As Russian officials have repeatedly said, threats and sanctions will only complicate the situation and lead to a dead end."

Moscow has recently, however, said that sometimes sanctions are "inevitable."

The six world powers and Tehran are expected to meet in few weeks, after the first round of talk held in Geneva on October 1.

The Geneva talks were followed by a specific round of discussion in Vienna between Russia, France and the United States, where the fuel deal was drafted by the IAEA.

Iran has asked for more talks on the fuel deal, while its Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday that technical experts of world powers too felt a need for a "new round of talks" on issues raised by Tehran.

Meanwhile Iranian opposition to sending Tehran's LEU abroad mounted on Sunday.

"Any pre-condition to deliver the fuel to Iran is unacceptable and any talk of sending our uranium must happen after receiving the fuel," Iranian parliament deputy speaker Abu Torabi told ISNA news agency.

Iran's judiciary chief Sadeq Larijani also voiced opposition to the transfer of LEU.

"It is not in the interest of the country and according to the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) the developed countries have to deliver us the fuel," he told ISNA.

Israel -- Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear state -- has said the fuel deal is a "positive step" in stopping Tehran's nuclear drive.

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links
Nuclear Power News - Nuclear Science, Nuclear Technology
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News