Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says the proposals made by Russia and the European Union about Tehran’s nuclear energy program will be discussed at the upcoming talks with the world powers of the P5+1 group

Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says the proposals made by Russia and the European Union about Tehran’s nuclear energy program will be discussed at the upcoming talks with the world powers of the P5+1 group.

In an interview with Ria Novosti in Moscow on Monday, Salehi said, “Iran announced last year that it has drafted a five-point plan according to the proposals presented by Russia’s Foreign Minister [Sergei Lavrov] in 2011.”

On July 14, 2012, Lavrov laid out a new “step-by-step” approach that would enable Iran to take steps to address the questions raised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding its nuclear energy program.

According to the plan, Iran can revive negotiations to allay the concerns of the IAEA about its nuclear activities and be rewarded along the way by a partial removal of sanctions.

“Last month, however, the EU drafted and announced a separate three-stage plan,” Salehi added.

The Iranian foreign minister said both plans would be discussed during the upcoming meeting between Iran and the P5+1 (Britain, China, France, Russia, and the US plus Germany) in Kazakhstan on February 26 in order to find their common grounds.

Salehi is in Moscow to attend the 10th annual meeting of the Russian-Iranian Business Council (RIBC). The two-day meeting began in the Russian capital on February 11.