Moscow, Sept 21, IRNA -- Iran's nuclear issue can only be resolved through political and diplomatic tools, Russia Foreign Ministry spokesman, Alexander Lukashevich said here on Thursday.
He made the remarks in response to an IRNA correspondent.
'Recent statement of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about Iran's nuclear program proved that diplomatic approach is fruitful in case of Iran's nuclear program.'
The high-ranking official added that the released statement can provide a better background for continuation of talks between Iran and G5+1 in the future.
'Talks between Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili and EU Foreign Policy chief, Catherine Ashton in Istanbul proved that claims about the halt of negotiations between Tehran and other sides was nothing more than a propaganda.'
Lukashevich underlined that since negotiations can prevent the use of other options in case of Iran's nuclear issue, Russia welcomes any kind of talks.
Iran's chief negotiator in talks with the world powers, Saeed Jalili, described his Tuesday night meeting with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton as 'good', and said Tehran is waiting for the world powers' response to its proposal which was presented in Moscow talks earlier this year.
Speaking at a press conference after a bilateral meeting with Ashton, who represents the world powers in talks with Tehran, in Istanbul on Wednesday, the Iranian negotiator described his Tuesday night meeting with Ashton as 'good', and said, 'At this meeting we reviewed the discussions raised in the Moscow talks and the contents of the experts meeting (in Istanbul in July), and we studied the common points which can serve as a platform for cooperation and further talks.'
'We are always ready for talks and we have declared that we are ready to hear your response to Iran's plan,' Jalili added.
He said Ashton is due to inform the Group 5+1 member-states (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) of the conclusions reached in the Tuesday meeting.
Jalili alluded that he and Ashton have come to the conclusion that 'the viewpoints raised in Moscow and Istanbul have reached a common point,' and now a decision can be made for the start of the next round of talks.
Quoting Ashton's remarks about the Tuesday night meeting, who had described the talks as 'useful,' Jalili said, 'We hope that we can help bring the viewpoints closer together.'
Following the Tuesday meeting with Jalili, Ashton described the talks as 'useful' and 'constructive.'
'While it was not a formal negotiating round it was a useful and constructive meeting,' said a declaration issued by EU High Representative Ashton's spokesman Michael Mann after a Tuesday night meeting between Ashton and Jalili.
No statements were made to the press at the beginning of Tuesday's meeting with Iran's top nuclear negotiator, which was held behind closed doors at the Iranian consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul.
The talks followed negotiations in Moscow in June, a meeting of the respective heads' deputies in July and phone calls made during summer.
Mann also said that Ashton aims to meet with world powers in the coming days 'in order to assess the situation and to discuss the way forward.'
The foreign ministers of Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany are due to arrive in New York for the United Nations General Assembly going into a 'ministerial week' slated to formally begin on September 24.
AFP reported that Ashton plans to meet these key figures on the sidelines of the UN talks, in a bid to get stop-start international diplomacy over Tehran's nuclear program back moving.
Jalili met earlier Tuesday with Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to discuss Tehran-West talks.
Zionist regime and its close ally the United States accuse Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, while they have never presented any corroborative document to substantiate their allegations. Both Washington and Tel Aviv possess advanced weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear warheads.
Iran vehemently denies the charges, insisting that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. Tehran stresses that it has always pursued a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry.
Iran, an NPT-signatory, has also called for the removal of all weapons of mass destruction from across the globe.
In pursuit of global nuclear disarmament, Tehran held a conference on nuclear disarmament on April 18-19, 2010 with officials from different world countries in attendance. During the two-day conference, world officials and politicians put their heads together to address issues and concerns in connection with nuclear disarmament.
Despite Iran's compliance with the NPT, Washington and its Western allies accuse the country of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, while they have never presented any corroborative evidence to substantiate their allegations. Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
Political observers believe that the United States has remained at loggerheads with Iran mainly over the independent and home-grown nature of Tehran's nuclear technology, which gives the Islamic Republic the potential to become a world power and a role model for other third-world countries. Washington has laid much pressure on Iran to make it give up the most sensitive and advanced part of the technology, which is uranium enrichment, a process used for producing nuclear fuel for power plant.
