The European Union (EU) said on Friday it would not seek to impose sanctions on Iran at present for Tehran's defiance not to suspend its uranium enrichment activities.

Diplomacy remains the first choice for the EU to resolve the disputed Iranian nuclear issue, Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, whose country holds the current EU presidency, said at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Lappeenranta, southern Finland.

This is not the time or place for the international community to hit Iran with sanctions, he said.

If Iran seeks negotiations, "then we have to see what the conditions are," Tuomioja said. "We are still, all of us, wanting to engage Iran seriously."

A UN Security Council deadline for Iran to suspend all activities related to uranium enrichment passed on Thursday without compliance from Tehran.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Friday that his country would never give up its nuclear program.

"Exploitation of peaceful nuclear energy is our undeniable right," Ahmadinejad told a rally in the northwest city of Maku. "The Iranian people will never give up their legal right."

Russia said on Friday it regretted Iran's decision not to suspend uranium enrichment by the UN deadline.

"We express our regret that Iran did not abide by (UN Security Council) resolution 1696 and has not ended work on enriching uranium by the deadline set out in that document," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin was quoted by Interfax and RIA-Novosti as saying.

Kamynin said countries concerned would have consultations in coming days to decide what further actions they should take.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said sanctions were not the best way to resolve international disputes.

"We take into account the experience of the past and we cannot ally ourselves with ultimatums, which all lead to a dead end," Interfax quoted Lavrov as saying.

The UN Security Council ratified Resolution 1696 on Iran's nuclear issue in July, which urged Tehran to suspend all activities related to uranium enrichment before Aug. 31, otherwise it would face sanctions.

Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), on Thursday referred a report on Iran's implementation of the resolution to the UN Security Council and the world nuclear watchdog's Board of Governors.

A statement from the IAEA did not reveal details of the report. But diplomats in Vienna said Iran had disregarded Resolution 1696 and failed to stop enriching uranium before the Aug. 31 deadline.

The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany offered Iran an incentive package in exchange for commitment from Tehran to freeze enrichment.

Source: Xinhua