"We positively evaluate this offer," top Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti news agency after talks with Russian security and energy officials in Moscow.

He added that "this plan can be perfected" during further Russian-Iranian talks planned next month.

Under the proposed deal, uranium for Iran's nascent nuclear power programme would be enriched in Russia in order to keep tabs on the material.

This would also allay Western and Israeli fears that Iran secretly plans to build a nuclear weapon under cover of the civilian power project, a development that would upset a longstanding security balance in the Middle East.

The European Union and the United States have given backing to the plan, and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Wednesday that it "may provide a solution" to the impasse.

However, the Iranian negotiator warned any deal would be scuppered if his country's nuclear programme was referred for discussion at the UN Security Council -- a move that would allow Western powers to press for sanctions against Iran.

"If the matter is referred to the UN Security Council or is used for political pressure, Iran will begin industrial enrichment of uranium," he was quoted as saying by ITAR-TASS news agency.

At the request of Britain, Germany and France, the UN nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will hold an emergency meeting in Vienna February 2-3 to discuss the Iranian programme. The IAEA could decide to send Iran to the UN Security Council.

The European powers declared negotiations over the Iranian programme were at a dead end after Tehran on January 10 broke IAEA seals and resumed uranium enrichment work to produce material that could serve either as fuel for atomic reactors or the raw material for nuclear weapons.

The European Union and the United States are trying to convince key Iranian trading partners Russia and China to back a hard line against Iran, including referral to the UN Security Council.

But diplomats said the two sides still disagreed on the wording of a resolution that could be adopted in Vienna.

The US ambassador to New Delhi warned meanwhile that Washington could pull out of a historic nuclear deal if India did not vote against Iran at the IAEA meeting.

"We have made it known to them that we would very much like India's support," the Press Trust of India quoted US Ambassador David Mulford as saying.

India responded by saying "we categorically reject" linking the bilateral nuclear technology deal to the Iran situation.

An important flurry of diplomatic activity is likely Monday when the foreign ministers of all five UN Security Council permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- meet in London. Germany's foreign minister will also attend.

Larijani warned that referral to the UN Security Council "will not serve peace and security in the region."

"Russia's idea is good, but... favourable conditions concerning the time and place" of the uranium enrichment scheme have still to be worked out, he added.

Larijani also insisted that Iran had full rights to "carry out scientific-research work in the area of enriching uranium," saying that this differed from actual enrichment.

He reiterated Iran's willingness to negotiate with Europe, adding that "Russian efforts can help this."

In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the Russian proposals "do form a basis for an agreement acceptable for both sides," according to the official Iranian news agency IRNA.

But Iran "will be obliged... to immediately stop all voluntary measures," including allowing tougher IAEA inspections and freezing large-scale enrichment, if its case is sent to the UN Security Council, he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed creating a new international system for processing uranium.

"It is necessary to create a model of global infrastructure that will ensure equal access for all countries interested in nuclear energy but in strict respect for the demands of non-proliferation," Putin said in Saint Petersburg.

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