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UN Iran resolution shouldn't be harsh: Russia

A draft UN resolution on Iran's nuclear program does not call for any harsh sanctions, Russia said, and the Iranian president said new measures would not deter the country's pursuit of nuclear technology.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday that the draft encourages countries to be vigilant in their dealings with Iran to prevent the illegal transfer of nuclear material, but "does not foresee any harsh sanctions."

He spoke a day after the draft was approved by the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany.

These terms "will be enforced until the International Atomic Energy Agency's concerns are resolved," Lavrov said, referring to the UN's nuclear watchdog.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed new sanctions as irrelevant.

"From our point of view, the issue is over. The issuance of a new resolution won't have any impact on the behavior of the Iranian nation," Iran's official news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

Iran has condemned as illegal two previous resolutions that ordered a ban on the supply of specified materials and technology that could contribute to Iran's nuclear and missile programs. Those sanctions also imposed an asset freeze on key Iranian companies and individuals named by the UN.

Saeed Jalili, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, said the country would continue with its civilian nuclear program.

"We have been committed to our obligations and did a lot of things beyond our obligations, but we also insist on our rights," Jalili said from Brussels, Belgium, where he was meeting with members of the European Parliament. "We need 20,000 Megawatts of nuclear electricity and for this we have to build 20 nuclear power plants."

The process of uranium enrichment can produce material needed to make an atomic bomb. Iran says it aims to use the technology only for generating power.

In November, 18 months of negotiations collapsed after EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana failed to persuade Jalili to suspend Iran's development of its nuclear program.

Solana and Jalili had a working dinner late on Wednesday in Belgium in their first meeting since the talks collapsed, but they appeared to make little progress.

Cristina Gallach, spokeswoman for Solana, said the two discussed nuclear issues "without entering in details."

"The meeting was designed to keep the channel of communications open," Gallach said, adding that Solana did not see the talks as a negotiating session.

The new draft was not publicly released, and details of its content were sketchy.
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