LONDON, January 27, 2010 (AFP) – Iran cannot keep the world waiting forever in the standoff over its nuclear programme, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned on Wednesday after talks with his US counterpart Hillary Clinton.
Lavrov's comments are the latest sign of apparent growing Russian frustration over Iran's failure to agree a UN-brokered nuclear fuel exchange deal aimed at breaking the nuclear standoff.
"It is clear that it is not possible to wait for ever," Lavrov said after the talks in London, where both he and Clinton are to attend an international conference on Afghanistan on Thursday.
"We are disappointed that Iran has not reacted constructively to the proposals" offered by world powers, he said in remarks broadcast on Russian state television.
A US official hailed the talks as "very constructive and collaborative."
