The German government expressed disappointment Monday at Iran's decision to postpone talks with Russia on its disputed nuclear program.

The talks slated for Thursday would not take place and a new date should be set by the two sides, according to reports quoting Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hussein Elham as saying.

"If these reports are true, we would regret this step," deputy foreign ministry spokesman Jens Ploetner told a news briefing, adding "it would mean that the time until the next board of Governors meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in March cannot be used as efficiently as possible ... to push forward with a diplomatic solution."

He stressed that the Russian plan for moving Iran's uranium enrichment to its territory could only be accepted by Iran as a supplementary plan to enrichment in Iran.

Germany, France and Britain passed the Iranian nuclear issue to the IAEA after Iran resumed uranium enrichment and the UN nuclear watchdog voted on Feb. 4 to refer Tehran to the UN Security Council.

Russia's proposal was regarded an acceptable solution by the west to the nuclear issue of Iran, which insists that its nuclear research is aimed at peaceful use.

Source: Xinhua