Russia repeated on Friday its call for Iran to resume the moratorium on nuclear research.

"We again call on Iran to reconsider its decisions and return to the state of moratorium and implement full and transparent cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), as is foreseen in the appropriate resolutions of the agency's board", Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said in a press statement.

Iran removed UN seals at its Natanz nuclear research facility on Tuesday to pave the way for resumption of research on uranium enrichment,incurring condemnation of the European Union, the United States and some other countries.

Iran, however, says its nuclear work is designed merely to meet its energy needs and insists on the right to develop a full nuclear fuel cycle.

Russia, which has been consistently supporting Iran on its nuclear issue and aiding it with its first nuclear power plant construction, also expressed disappointment and concern over this issue.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Wednesday that Iran's decision to resume nuclear research was a cause for alarm.

However, Ivanov believes that political and diplomatic methods have not been exhausted and Russia's proposal to move Iran's enrichment program to Russian territory "is still on the table for discussion".

"We must do everything so that the situation does not develop into confrontation", he said on Friday.

Source: Xinhua