(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-09-19 22:39

ANKARA, Turkey - A senior US official called Wednesday for UN Security Council members and US allies to help push for a third round of sanctions against Iran over its disputed atomic work.

US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said Washington was "pursuing peaceful diplomacy," and urged Iran to cooperate. However, he said the "responsibility lies with Iran to choose negotiations."

"We are going ahead to try to sanction Iran again, and we hope very much to have the support of Russia and China and the other countries in the council for that," Burns told reporters in Ankara. "We have very strong support of France and Britain in this respect."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday signaled Moscow's opposition to a third round of sanctions, and praised a recent agreement between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency aimed at resolving outstanding issues.

"We believe that the Security Council should not be pressured to step outside the framework of support for the IAEA," Lavrov said, while warning against the use of force in Iran and against unilateral sanctions to punish Tehran for its nuclear program.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Iran on Tuesday to cooperate fully with the IAEA, the UN's nuclear agency, and the UN Security Council to settle the dispute over its nuclear program, saying the United Nations wants a peaceful solution.

Ban was responding to a question about French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner's comments Sunday that the world community must be prepared for "the worst" - the possibility of war - if the nuclear standoff continues.

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