Russia's Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday it was studying Iran's proposed new date for talks on Moscow's uranium enrichment plan for Tehran.

"We are in the process of considering whether the new date for consultations is acceptable for the Russian delegation," ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.

New talks on the compromise proposal to shift Iran's uranium enrichment activities to Russian territory were scheduled to start on Thursday in Moscow, but Javad Vaidi, Deputy Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said on Tuesday the talks with Russia would be delayed until Feb. 20.

Vaidi also confirmed his country has resumed some work on uranium enrichment.

Western countries have backed Russia's proposal to enrich uranium for Iran on its soil, saying it could help allay concerns about Iran potentially producing weapons-grade nuclear material.

Iran hinted on Monday that its move to delay the Moscow talks came in response to the International Atomic Energy Agency's decision earlier this month to report the Central Asian country's nuclear file to the UN Security Council.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki was quoted by Itar-Tass as saying upon arrival in Armenia's capital Yerevan that negotiations with Russia "remain on the agenda."

Source: Xinhua