MOSCOW, March 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's foreign minister said Monday that the proposal to set up a uranium-enrichment joint venture for Iran's controversial nuclear program was still open.
"Our offer to create a JV with Iran to enrich uranium on Russian territory is still on the table," Lavrov said, adding that the proposed venture would meet all the uranium needs of an Iranian civilian program.
Tehran should answer questions from the international community in order to allay fears about its intentions, Lavrov said.
"[Our proposal] should be implemented in an overall context that satisfies any remaining questions about Iran's past nuclear program, to satisfy [the international community] about its peaceful intentions," he said.
Lavrov's statement came after the Iranian ambassador to Russia said earlier Monday that his country might continue talks with Moscow on a joint venture.
"There is no doubt that continued talks and consultations with Russia are possible," Gholamreza Ansari said, adding that no date had yet been set and that the talks could resume whenever necessary.
Russia's initiative to produce enriched uranium for Iran's civilian nuclear reactors is seen as a compromise in the ongoing international dispute over the country's nuclear program.
Tehran, which has repeatedly denied Western accusations that it plans to build nuclear weapons and insisted on its right to develop civilian nuclear technology at recently reopened nuclear research centers, has demanded amendments to the Russian proposal.
The dispute deteriorated when the UN Security Council, which has the power to impose economic sanctions and other punitive measures, delayed its session slated for March 21, when it was expected to adopt a statement on Iran's nuclear file, over a major divide between the veto-wielding Security Council members on the issue.
China, a major consumer of Iranian oil, and Russia, which is helping Iran build a $800-million nuclear power plant at Bushehr, were opposed to a harsh draft statement proposed by the United States, France, and Britain.
