Russian minister to urge Iranians to ease nuclear standoff

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in Berlin he plans to meet later Friday with his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, and urge Teheran to ease the standoff with the international community over Iran's nuclear ambitions, DPA reported.

Lavrov spoke after talks at a Berlin airport with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.

The Russian said he would meet Mottaki at the international security conference in Munich on Friday night and seek to convince Tehran to answer questions set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and convince the world its nuclear work is peaceful.

"Today there is a real chance to reach agreement on practical issues," said Lavrov.

Those issues included how to go about delivering nuclear fuels to Iran.

Referring to the six powers in talks with Iran on the issue, Lavrov said, "An agreement on this subject would fundamentally alter the climate and would create the conditions for the resumption of talks between the Group of Six and Iran.

"I very much hope he will listen to me and react accordingly."

Both Westerwelle and Lavrov said a consensual political solution in the dispute with Iran was vital.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that Iran was ready to ship its low-enriched uranium out of the country, in exchange for a more highly processed version to be used as fuel in a medical-purpose reactor in Tehran.

/Trend News/