Monday, February 27 2006 17:40 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Moscow: Russia today (Feb 27 2006) called on Iran to return to a voluntary moratorium on uranium enrichment work, saying this was a precondition to an agreement with Russia on a proposal to enrich uranium on Russian territory to alleviate fears over Tehran's nuclear program.

"The Russian proposal to create a joint venture for the enrichment of uranium in Russia is part of a general effort to remove concerns on the Iranian nuclear program," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists.

"We are convinced that, among other components of this effort, a moratorium on enrichment of uranium in Iran is required until all issues have been clarified by the experts of the IAEA," Lavrov said.

His comments came as Russian officials downplayed progress on the Russian plan to help resolve tensions over Iran's nuclear program, saying there was still work to be done to reach agreement and warning that time was quickly running out ahead of a March 6 deadline.

"This is a complex issue and the negotiations are difficult," Russia's chief nuclear negotiator with Iran, Sergei Kiriyenko, told the official sources in an interview on his return to Moscow following weekend talks in Tehran.

"There is little time left for further agreements," the agency quoted Kiriyenko as saying, though he also voiced optimism that a comprehensive agreement could be reached in the days ahead of the next International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meeting on Iran on March 6.

"A few issues still need to be agreed upon," said Kiriyenko, who is head of the Russian atomic energy agency Rosatom.