Iran hopes to settle the nuclear problem through negotiations and prevent it from escalating into a crisis, Iranian Ambassador Gholamreza Ansari to Russia stated on Tuesday in Moscow, following the opening of the six-party consultations over the delicate issue.

"We must do everything possible to settle the Iranian nuclear problem in a tranquil atmosphere of negotiations. The region does not want a crisis and all the nations are against it," Ansari was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.

"The Iranian leaders had stated that they were ready for a dialogue with different sides in order to explain their program," Ansari said.

The deputy foreign ministers of Russia, the United States, China and the European trio, including Britain, Germany and France, met in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss Iran's nuclear program. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak heads the Russian delegation.

Ansari stressed that the Iranian side has no problems with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"Iran is ready to conduct its activity only under IAEA resolutions and in line with the laws effective in the IAEA." Ansari said.

He said live on Russia's Ekho Moskvy Radio that IAEA inspections are being conducted in Iran. "We want this cooperation to continue," Ansari remarked.

"We are prepared to accept the proposals of other countries in order to prove that the Iranian nuclear program is of a purely peaceful nature. Nobody in Iran wishes to deviate from the peaceful uses of the atom," he added.

"We insist that the doors should be opened for the sake of greater transparency ... Iran is prepared to host any foreign companies on its territory," Ansari said.

In a telephone conversation between Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Monday, Russia strongly recommends Iran to make a pause in uranium enrichment research.

Source: Xinhua