Russia's Lavrov against further Iran sanctions

MUNICH (AP) -- Russia's foreign minister is indicating that he opposes slapping more international sanctions on Iran in the standoff over its nuclear program.

Iran has been hit with several rounds of U.N. sanctions over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment. Tehran again rebuffed U.N.-drafted proposals at talks in Istanbul in January, generating speculation about more economic pressures.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Saturday that "any new proposals ... would basically be aimed at suffocating the Iranian economy."

He says that "was not part of the agreement" when the U.N. Security Council's five permanent members and Germany started trying to allay doubts over Iran's nuclear intentions with a combination of incentives and pressure.

Lavrov argues the Istanbul meeting was "not a total failure."