Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that Russia and Iran had failed so far to reach an agreement on the establishment of a uranium enrichment joint venture, but "there is always an opportunity to reach an agreement", the Itar-Tass news agency reported.

"If all the elements of the negotiations are approved, including a moratorium on uranium enrichment... then the result will be positive." Itar-Tass quoted the minister as saying.

Lavrov emphasized that "We have so far not obtained the result, but we are working towards it."

The Iranian delegation is currently staying in Vienna for talks with the representatives of the European Union Troika, including Britain, Germany and France, as well as Mohammed ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the report.

Another report said the Vienna talks on Friday had failed to reach an agreement, but that the talks had been held in a constructive atmosphere.

Iran restarted enrichment activities last month, two years after voluntarily freezing the program during talks with the Europeans.

Tehran insists it wants uranium enrichment only to generate electricity, but many in the West fear that Iran will develop atomic weapons.

The UN Security Council is waiting until the end of next week's board meeting to decide on further action.

Source: Xinhua