Russia calls for halt to Iran N-programme

‘‘Iran must heed the call to stop work linked to uranium enrichment,’’ the agency quoted Lavrov as saying a day after a meeting in Moscow of diplomats from the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany.

‘‘All participants in the meeting agreed that urgent and constructive steps are demanded of Iran in response to the decision of the board of the IAEA,’’ which has called on Tehran to stop enrichment activity, Lavrov said.

But he added that no decision had been adopted at the meeting, echoing a top US diplomat who said the envoys recognised the ‘‘need for a stiff response to Iran’s flagrant violations of its international responsibilities’’ but failed to reach agreement on how to proceed.

Meanwhile, French President Jacques Chirac in an interview published today said it was not too late for Iran to halt its nuclear programme and resume talks with the international community.

‘‘I would like to state very clearly that the door is still open for talks to resume,’’ if Iran complies with the demands of the UNSC and the IAEA, said Chirac.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Britain did not expect Iran to comply with UNSC demands to halt uranium enrichment by the end of April even as he played down the likelihood of a military action against Iran.

‘‘We are working on the basis that Iran will not meet the proposals from the Security Council on the 30-day deadline,’’ said Straw. ‘‘But what is most likely to happen is that the matter will move back to the Security Council and there will then be discussions about the next steps which the international community will take,’’ he added.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia said it did not want a row with Iran over nuclear programme and ruled out that Riyadh was seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.