国际英语新闻：Medvedev does not rule out sanctions against Iran: Russian FM

MOSCOW, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had not excluded the possibility of imposing reasonable sanctions on Iran, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.

"As President Medvedev said, sanctions seldom work but sometimes they are inevitable," Lavrov said at a news conference after talks between Medvedev and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

However, the president said that "sanctions must be reasonable, unaggressive and not paralyzing and should have no negative impact on the Iranian people but should be imposed on those who make decisions on cooperating with the international community," Lavrov said.

Clinton hoped the sides would soon reach consensus on the Iranian nuclear issue.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced Thursday the first reactor of Iran's long-delayed Bushehr nuclear power plant would be launched in summer.

Iran's move to produce high-grade uranium with a purity of 20 percent stoked a wave of international criticism, with the United States leading the calls for harsher sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The West accuses Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian program, but Iran insists its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.

Russia, which has long been saying it prefers to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue through diplomatic means, is showing growing frustration with Iran's refusal to cooperate with the international community.