Moscow has called to use non-military means for solving the Iranian nuclear issue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday, February 13, according to RIA Novosti.

“We are concerned about Iran’s nuclear issue. This issue should be solved peacefully, any military means should be excluded,” Lavrov said after a meeting with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

According to Lavrov, Russia is interested in restoring peace and stability in the Middle East. "We would be ready with the other UN Security Council members to contribute to the security agreement between all the Gulf countries," the Russian foreign minister said.

Western powers and Israel suspect Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons. Iran denies this, saying its program is of a civilian nature.

The foreign ministers of 27 EU countries in late January approved an embargo on oil supplies from Iran. It is supposed that by July 1 all the EU members that buy oil from Tehran will have to stop importing from the country.

New sanctions were imposed because of the fact that Iran, in the opinion of the European Union, still does not want to cooperate with the international community on issues related to the development of nuclear programs. Iran in response threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a major export route for oil supplies from the Middle East.