"The draft establishes a dual-track approach and reaffirms the readiness to start negotiations with Iran as soon as Iran is ready," Sergei Lavrov said.

He said the resolution avoids "crippling" economic sanctions and takes a recent fuel swap deal between Iran, Brazil and Turkey into account.

"Our Western partners from the Iran Six [Russia, the United States, Britain, France, Germany and China] prepared a draft resolution that neither Russia nor China were able to support. As a result of intensive consultations, we excluded the conditions aimed at imposing crippling sanctions [on Iran]," Lavrov said.

He said Russia and China have proposed that nonpermanent Security Council members be given more time to study the draft.

International pressure on Iran increased in early February when Tehran announced it had begun enriching uranium to 20% in lieu of an agreement on an exchange that would provide it with fuel for a research reactor.

The Iranian, Brazilian, and Turkish foreign ministers agreed on May 17 that Iran will swap in Turkey most of its 3.5%-enriched uranium for 120 kg of 20%-enriched fuel for use in its Tehran scientific research reactor.

The deal did not halt discussions by the Iran Six on a draft Security Council resolution to expand sanctions against Iran.

A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday that Tehran had not halted its uranium enrichment activities and that questions also remained over Tehran's implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.