“The issue is now being discussed by the ‘three plus three’ group (‘sextet’). The Western countries are discussing only ideas that might make up a core of the would-be resolution on Iran. And so far there is no draft as such,” Lavrov said after his talks with Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb.

According to Lavrov, “the time for sanctions arrives when all other possibilities for the settlement of this or that problem are exhausted.”

“The Russian side believes there still is a possibility of a diplomatic solution to the problem. However, we do not rule out that if Iran ignores the IAEA proposals the problem will be raised at the UN Security Council. In any case, sanctions should not create problems to the civilian population,” he said.

The Russian foreign minister reminded that the world community had recognized the “sextet”’s role in settling the Iranian nuclear problem. “The group should stay as a core elaborating settlement approaches,” he noted.