Sergei Lavrov met China's Deputy Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai in Moscow ahead of talks slated for Tuesday that will also include the United States and the EU3 of France, Germany and the U.K.
UN Security Council permanent members Russia and China last Wednesday expressed concern over Iran's announcement that it had managed to produce low-enriched uranium on a laboratory scale, but reiterated their opposition to any punitive measures against the country.
The other three permanent Security Council members - Britain, France and the United States - demanded that Tehran halt all enrichment activities immediately, and threatened to table a binding, militarily enforceable resolution if it fails to comply.
Tuesday's talks will involve Ciu Tankai, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak, U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, British Foreign Office Political Director John Sawyers, German Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Scheffer, and French Foreign Ministry political director Stanislas de Laboulaye.
Iran has been accused of pursuing a covert program to develop nuclear weapons, but has denied the accusations, insisting that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes and that it has the right to produce nuclear fuel on its own soil.
Last Tuesday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared that Iran had joined the club of countries possessing nuclear technology by successfully enriching uranium to a level sufficient for use in nuclear power plants.
