Russia Hopes Iran Report Will Unite UN

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov (right) with U.S Secretary of State Rice (file photo) April 28, 2006 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says he hopes a report by the UN nuclear watchdog on Iran's nuclear program will help the international community agree on a common position to defuse the crisis.

Lavrov was speaking after a meeting with NATO foreign ministers in Sofia today, just hours before the IAEA was due to release its report on Iran.

Lavrov declined to say whether Russia would block UN Security Council moves to impose sanctions on Iran if it does not comply with international demands to end its uranium enrichment program.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on April 27 that the Security Council will be obliged to take action against Tehran if it refuses to meet UN demands.

(AFP, dpa)