MOSCOW, February 22 (RIA Novosti) - At the next round of talks on Iran's nuclear program, the Russian delegation will not put forward any new proposals on uranium enrichment, a source at the Federal Nuclear Energy Agency said Wednesday.
The head of the agency, Sergei Kiriyenko, will travel to Tehran on Thursday for talks over Russia's offer to set up a joint venture for the enrichment of Iran's uranium on its soil.
The first round of negotiations on the proposal, seen as an aim at resolving the international standoff over the Islamic Republic's controversial nuclear program, was held in Moscow earlier this week, but failed to yield any specific agreements.
The source said the idea behind the establishment of international uranium enrichment centers was to make sure that national nuclear energy programs are not used to develop weapons grade uranium, but would be used for peaceful means. Iran and other countries are looking for alternative energy sources to reduce their dependency on increasingly expensive hydrocarbons.
"Iran could become a pioneer in this area and a role model for others to follow," the official said.
During the Moscow round of talks, Iran said it was interested in the joint venture plans, but also insisted on its right to conduct its own enrichment activities to obtain nuclear fuel.
The source said Iranian officials would probably drag their feet on the Russian offer until March 6, when the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, is set to consider referring Iran's nuclear file to the UN Security Council, which has the authority to impose sanctions.
However, "solving the conflict through diplomacy rather than by force is still a realistic option," the source said.
President Vladimir Putin said earlier Wednesday that he was hopeful Russia would be able to obtain a positive result over the Iranian nuclear issue. "The negotiations are not easy, but we are counting on reaching a positive result," Putin said during his visit to the Azerbaijani capital of Baku.
