Russia is still ready to negotiate with Iran this week over its uranium enrichment proposal, a top diplomat said on Monday.

"Our proposal for the Feb. 16 visit remains in force," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying, apparently responding to reports of a delay in the scheduled talks from Tehran.

As part of international efforts to solve the dispute over Iran's nuclear program, Russia has proposed that uranium enrichment -- the most sensitive part of the nuclear fuel cycle -- be carried out under a joint venture on the former Soviet Republic's soil. New talks on the proposal have been scheduled to start on Thursday.

Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham told reporters in Tehran earlier on Monday that the new round of talks with Russia has been postponed "due to some new developments."

But he added that the talks would be resumed when a mutual agreement between the two countries is reached.

Meanwhile, a Russian Foreign Ministry official told the Itar-Tass news agency that Iran has not formally notified Moscow about any delay to the talks and the ministry is awaiting Tehran's decision on the date.

Source: Xinhua