Iranian Envoy in Moscow For Talks on Nuclear Standoff

A top Iranian envoy is holding talks with senior Russian officials in Moscow on ways to resolve Iran's nuclear standoff with the West.

Ali Akbar Velayati met Thursday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who urged Iran to show good will in resolving the dispute.

Velayati, who is a special envoy of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says Tehran wants to resolve the standoff through negotiations.

The Iranian envoy also held talks with the head of Russia's Security Council, Igor Ivanov, and is due to meet President Vladimir Putin.

Mr. Putin said last week that Moscow supports a proposal from the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency that calls for holding off on U.N. sanctions if Iran suspends enriching uranium.

In December, Russia joined other members of the U.N. Security Council in imposing sanctions on Iran after it failed to meet a U.N. deadline to halt its nuclear activities.

However, Iran ignored the Security Council vote and said it was working to install 3,000 centrifuges at a plant in Natanz to produce nuclear fuel on an industrial scale.

The major powers accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its developing nuclear technology only for peaceful purposes. - VOA News