Moscow, Oct 15

It was too early to hold a ministerial meeting between international mediators and Iran over the latter's disputed nuclear programme, the Russian foreign ministry said Monday.

"Such a meeting requires a foundation. It is necessary to prepare the ground and to determine the areas of discussion worthy of the attention of a minister, of his position," Xinhua quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying.

"So far, we believe that the negotiations will continue in the format used in previous years," he said.

More efforts were needed to coordinate foreign ministers of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany, or P5+1, the diplomat said.

He said Iranian declarations that Tehran did not intend to export stocks of enriched uranium could not work as a preliminary condition for talks on its nuclear problem.

"This is not a framework or a restriction," the Interfax news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying.

Earlier Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said a ministerial meeting might be necessary to reach a final agreement after the Iranian talks with P5+1 that are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday "to discuss the situation around Tehran's nuclear programme."

By:IANS