Russia says Iran letting chances for dialogue slip

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attend a news conference in Moscow March 18, 2010.

BARVIKHA, Russia (Reuters) - Russia on Friday said that Iran was letting the opportunity for dialogue with the international community slip away and warned that the Islamic Republic could face new sanctions.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's remarks, after a meeting between President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, appeared to indicate frustration with Iran over its failure to allay fears about its nuclear program.

But they fell short of support for the "aggressive sanctions" President Barack Obama has said Washington would pursue, and Lavrov suggested Iran's nuclear activities pose no imminent threat.

"The reports that the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) director general publishes on a regular basis contain very precise assessments that do not give reason for any sort of alarm," Lavrov said through an interpreter.

"But that does not mean that we are satisfied with Iranian actions," he said. "What we see is that they are letting the opportunity to establish normal, systematic, mutually beneficial dialogue with the international community slip away."

"As President Medvedev has said, sanctions rarely work, but situations can arise when they are unavoidable, and we do not rule out that such a situation may arise in relation to Iran," Lavrov said, Interfax reported.

(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed, writing by Guy Faulconbridge, editing by Steve Gutterman)