Russia, Iran talks break up

Iran Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki

Gallery: Iran's nuclear facilities

• Iran delays Russia nuclear talks

• France: Iran program 'military'

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MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Russian and Iranian officials have ended two days of talks on a Russian offer to enrich uranium for Iran, and the delegation from Tehran left for the airport, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported, citing an Iranian official.

The Iranian Embassy in Moscow said in a statement that the delegation would leave Moscow for Tehran at around 1100 GMT.

The Iranian delegation had met Russian negotiators in Moscow Monday to discuss an offer to enrich uranium outside Iran, while Tehran's foreign minister spoke with EU officials in Brussels about Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Russian and Iranian negotiators talked about an offer from Moscow to enrich uranium for Tehran on Russian soil -- an offer Russia says is contingent on Iran completely halting its nuclear enrichment program inside its borders.

However, Iranian officials have said in the past they will not engage in any negotiations or agree to any deal that would deny Iran's right to enrich uranium on its own soil.

The day ended with both sides saying the talks would continue, but they did not say when, according to several Russian news agencies.

Russia, one of Iran's largest trading partners, is trying to head off Tehran's nuclear dispute and avoid sanctions that could potentially be imposed by the United Nations Security Council.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will meet March 6 and is expected to report Tehran to the Security Council after Iran ended its cooperation with the nuclear watchdog agency.

Iran insists its nuclear research program is meant for civilian purposes and to produce energy, but many Western countries fear the move is an effort to create nuclear weapons.

Iran restarted work at its Natanz facility on February 13, according to a diplomat close to the IAEA.

After meetings with EU officials in Brussels, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki repeated his country's pledge that its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes.

But EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana said that if Iran was looking to build international confidence by conducting nuclear research in labs, it was the wrong way to go, according to Solana spokeswoman Cristina Gallach.

Solana reported that no progress had come in his meeting with Mottaki and said that the Iranians' position had not changed.

-- CNN Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance contributed to this report

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