Russia rejects draft sanctions resolution on Iran

BRUSSELS, Nov 3 (Reuters) Russia will not back a draft UN sanctions resolution against Iran without significant changes, a senior Russian official said as world powers prepared to meet today to tackle differences over the move.

Negotiations on the draft resolution, drawn up by Britain, France and Germany with general US support, promise to be arduous, possibly lasting weeks, because veto-wielding Russia and China oppose tough sanctions.

''We will not support the present version,'' Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak as saying, adding that the proposal ''requires major fine-tuning''.

Kislyak spoke just before European Union foreign ministers met their Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Brussels to clarify Moscow's stance before envoys of the six powers met at the United Nations later in the day. Lavrov declined comment.

On Wednesday, he said Russia rejected steps that would corner Iran, alluding to a travel ban in the draft on Iran's nuclear ambitions, which the West believes are a cover for bombmaking but Tehran says involve generating electricity only.

''We cannot support measures which, in essence, aim at isolating Iran from the outside world, including the isolation of people who are charged with leading negotiations on the nuclear programme,'' Lavrov said.

The draft orders all countries to prevent the sale and supply of equipment, technology and financing contributing to Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. It would freeze assets of people and entities involved in these programmes and prevent them from travelling except for special events.

A British Foreign Office spokesman said: ''We continue to believe that the draft is a good basis for negotiation ... This is a complex and sensitive negotiation.'' ''I would think we will get a resolution imposing some minor sanctions,'' said a Western diplomat at the United Nations, who asked not to be identified. ''But that would require substantive concessions from both the Americans, who want tougher sanctions, and the Russians, who (really) want no sanctions at all.'' MORE REUTERS SY BD2119