World powers meet on Iran, Russia opposes ultimatum

LONDON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Six world powers met on Friday to discuss U.S. and British proposals for possible sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme, but Russia said it agreed with China no ultimatum should be issued to Tehran.

The United States, backed by Britain, has suggested it is time to consider a U.N. Security Council resolution to impose sanctions after four months of talks between the EU and Tehran failed to yield an Iranian promise to halt atomic work.

But Russia and China, two of the six powers, agreed it was "absolutely unacceptable" to threaten force against Iran and that talk of ultimatums was counter-productive, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev was quoted as saying.

Before going into Friday's ministerial-level meeting in London, British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said she was "not anticipating any major decisions" from the talks between Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.

"The principal thing we are hoping for is a much clearer picture. What we want today is a full clear report from (European Union foreign policy chief) Javier (Solana) ... so we can all take stock of where we stand," Beckett told reporters.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov entered the meeting without talking to reporters about the standoff with Iran. Tehran says its nuclear programme is only for power generation but the West suspects it wants to make a nuclear bomb.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was running late for the meeting because of a mechanical problem with her military aircraft, and a U.S. State Department official said ministers were unlikely to reach a decision on Friday.

U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns took Rice's place at the meeting until her arrival.

Another U.S. State Department official also lowered expectations for the meeting, predicting that at most Beckett, as the host, would be able to say afterwards the countries would all move towards sanctions.

"I expect a draft resolution (on sanctions) will be circulated (at the U.N.) in the next week," said the official.

The talks are expected to break around 7:00 p.m. (1800 GMT) so ministers can make a statement on how they are progressing. Some ministers would then convene again over dinner, depending on their schedules, a British Foreign Office spokesman said.

Senior officials from the six powers met earlier in the day.

ATOMIC WORK

After four months of talks between Solana and top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, Tehran says it will not stop its atomic work and has a right to nuclear technology.

Talk of sanctions is likely to face resistance from Russia and China, which is sending its arms control director Zhang Yan to the meeting in place of Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing.

"The positions of our two countries coincide that the use of force or the threat to use force is absolutely unacceptable," Alexeyev was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency when he was asked about Russian and Chinese policy on Iran.

"Talking to (Iran) in the language of ultimatums and attempts to force them into a corner are counter-productive."

Some European countries also say diplomacy must be given more time. Solana said on Thursday the door to dialogue with Tehran should stay open for now.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said: "We must show both firmness and unity ... The question we are going to ask ourselves is whether we now go to the Security Council and what kind of joint reaction we will agree on."

Apart from Germany, the countries meeting in London are veto-wielding Security Council members.

Lavrov, speaking before he flew to London, said Moscow wanted talks with Iran to go on. "We will be guided by an earlier agreement among the six that any measures which can be considered should be aimed exclusively at encouraging Iran to sit at the negotiating table," he said.

Iran again urged the West on Thursday to solve the dispute through talks but repeated it would not stop uranium enrichment.

A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the foreign ministers from the six powers would probably ask their political directors to spend the next few days hammering out specific language on sanctions.

In New York on Thursday, Britain's U.N. ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said he expected the Security Council to discuss Iran next week, including non-military sanctions under Article 41 of the U.N. Charter. (Additional reporting by Christian Lowe, Arshad Mohammed and Sue Pleming)