Russian FM: Talks on Iran nuclear program not a failure

Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, says it is too early to label the talks on the Iranian nuclear program a failure. He also noted the discussions have nothing to do with the delay of Iran's first nuclear reactor.

At a news conference on Tuesday with his Kazakh counterpart, Lavrov said world leaders were still determined to press ahead with the negotiations over Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, said, "This is what all our efforts are aimed at. So far I believe it is premature to say that these efforts have failed."

Lavrov also denied any relation between the nuclear talks, and Moscow's announcement on Monday that a Russian-built nuclear reactor in Iran would not be switched on this year.

Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, said, "There is no political angle here, it is a normal working process. The complex technological issues are being solved here."

Officials in Russia and Iran had previously announced plans to switch on the Russia-built reactor at the southern port of Bushehr this year, giving Iran its first operating nuclear power plant decades after construction started.

But Russia now says this will be pushed back to the end of 2010.