Saturday, November 5 2005 10:39 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Moscow: Foreign Ministers of India and Russia have spoken in favour of resolving the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme within the ambit of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.

External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh spoke to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov over phone last night (Nov 04, 2005) and both leaders agreed that the UN nuclear watchdog would be the right place for resolving the Iran nuclear issue, with the help of political and diplomatic efforts.

"The Indian minister raised the issue of the Iranian nuclear programme ahead of a session of the IAEA Board of Governors due in November.

Both sides agreed that this complicated problem must be addressed by political and diplomatic means only, and within the framework of IAEA," a Foreign Ministry release said last night.

The US and EU are demanding the transfer of Iran's nuclear dossier to the UN Security Council. During the last vote at IAEA in Vienna, India had voted against Iran resisting this move.

During the conversation, Lavrov also attracted Singh's attention to 'some bilateral agreements' which needed to be finalised before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Russia, the Foreign Ministry said.

Moscow has been pressing on the speedy signing of Military IPR agreement and bilateral accord on Russia's accession to the World Trade Organisation.