MOSCOW, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Iran will not give up
its right to enrich uranium despite a growing pressure on it, Iranian Ambassador
to Russia Gholamreza Ansari said on Thursday.
"We are not going to give up our legitimate right to
enrich uranium... Work will continue despite a growing foreign pressure," Ansari
was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.
The UN Security Council, which is currently holding
consultations on a new resolution on Iran, "may adopt a tougher than in December
stance, but this will change nothing," Ansari said.
"Our course is in agreement with international
legislation. We are acting strictly within the legal framework," he said, adding
that this will be the stance of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he
speaks at the Security Council during a scheduled trip to New York.
However, "we believe there are opportunities for a
dialogue," Ansari said. Iran "stresses that it is open to negotiations."
Ansari hopes that the financial issues emerged in the
construction of a nuclear power plant in Bushehr would be settled shortly. The
difficulties were "insignificant and cannot be an obstacle for finishing the
construction of the power plant in line with the schedule," he said.
The UN Security Council was scheduled to hold a
meeting on Wednesday to discuss a draft resolution that was agreed on last week
by six major states -- Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and
Germany.
Diplomats at the United Nations said a vote on the
draft, which toughened sanctions against Tehran already adopted by the council
last December, was likely to follow a few days later.
Ahmadinejad has planned to attend the voting session
of the UN Security Council in New York and make a speech to defend Iran's
nuclear rights before the voting takes place.
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