Russia has supported the draft resolution put to the vote. We note with satisfaction that the serious work of the six countries and due consideration for the opinions and suggestions of a number of nonpermanent Security Council members had brought the Council to a text that is balanced and meets the tasks at hand.

The resolution is in fact a political signal to Iran on the need for cooperation with the international community, on the basis of implementing the relevant decisions of the IAEA Board of Governors and the Security Council. This signal must be read in combination with the Statement of the six Foreign Ministers.

It is important that the Six have the willingness to develop proposals for further talks, from which Iran and the region as a whole could benefit, politically and economically, as well as in terms of security.

We note the recognition by the Security Council and the Six of Iran's lawful rights under the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons. We reaffirm that once confidence in the solely peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear program is restored, it will be treated in the same manner as the program of any other non-nuclear-weapon state party to the NPT Treaty.

Another fundamental point is that today's decision, similar to those in resolutions 1737 and 1747, is taken under Article 41 of Chapter VII of the Charter and calls for no use of force whatsoever. The resolution also provides that any further steps by the Security Council if required will also be undertaken solely within a peaceful framework. As before, we believe that effective solution of the Iranian nuclear problem can be found only in the political and diplomatic sphere.

Russia favors a search for fresh approaches towards negotiations. Together with the partners in the Six we are prepared to facilitate a serious and concrete dialogue with Iran to settle all pending issues effectively.

Hopefully, Iran's leadership will carefully analyze the resolution and the statement and choose to meet the requirements of both the Council and IAEA, continue active cooperation with the Agency and help to launch negotiations to settle Iran's nuclear problem. It is important that the six countries should also be willing to engage in constructive cooperation with Iran. The necessity of such approach is borne out by the discussion in the Council and by the results of the vote on the resolution.