Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Moscow Monday with Cui Tiankai, assistant to the Chinese Foreign Minister, on Iran's nuclear issue.

The two sides agreed during the meeting to strengthen dialog and cooperation to work toward solving Iran's nuclear issue through negotiations and diplomacy.

All related parties should step up diplomatic efforts to avoid an escalation of the issue, said Lavrov. For his part, Cui said China would support Russia's role in seeking a diplomatic solution to the issue.

During the meeting, the two sides also discussed the dialog between leaders of developing countries and the Group of Eight.

Source: Xinhua