MOSCOW, Sept 20: Russia and China believe Iran’s nuclear programme can be dealt with within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The ministers agreed that the situation surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme is not irreversible, and there remains every possibility the problem can be resolved within the IAEA framework,” it said.

The statement, on the ministry’s Web site www.mid.ru, described a meeting in New York on Tuesday between the Russian, Chinese and Indian foreign ministers.

Both Russia and China are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

A European Union diplomat said earlier that Russia was resisting EU and US pressure to report Iran to the Security Council for breaching its international obligations with its nuclear programme.

Russia has built a $1 billion nuclear power station for Iran and sees it as a key trading partner.

It remains convinced that scrutiny of Tehran’s nuclear programme was a matter for the UN nuclear watchdog and not the Security Council, diplomats say.

Iran angered the EU by resuming uranium processing work at a plant in Isfahan – a move which led EU officials to threaten the Security Council referral. —Reuters