Russia says proposal to Iran holds good

Russia's offer to enrich uranium for Iran's nuclear power plant holds good amid international efforts to solve the dispute over Iran's nuclear program, the Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

"Today, the Russian Embassy in Tehran gave a note to Iran confirming that Russia's proposal to Iran on creating a joint venture for uranium enrichment remains valid," the ministry said in a statement posted on its official web site.

"This proposal is Russia's contribution to the search for mutually acceptable solutions to Iran's nuclear problem by political and diplomatic means," the ministry said.

The statement came just days after officials from the European Union (EU) and Iran sat down for fresh talks on its disputed nuclear program after a four-month hiatus.

Germany, France and Britain, which represented the EU in the talks aimed at persuading Iran to scrap uranium enrichment, froze the talks after Iran ended a voluntary suspension of uranium conversion in August.

Moscow brought up a proposal in November that would allow Iran to go ahead with a civilian nuclear program but transfer uranium enrichment, the most sensitive part of the nuclear fuel cycle, to Russia under a joint venture.

The plan is seen as a way to minimize the chances of Iran acquiring the critical nuclear know-how to make weapons-grade components.

Iran has not rejected the plan outright. In Wednesday's talks in Vienna, the two sides agreed to continue negotiations in January.

The United States accuses Iran of running a covert nuclear arms program. Iran, however, says its nuclear work is designed merely to meet its energy needs.

Source: Xinhua