Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin on Tuesday denied reports that Moscow had imposed an ultimatum on Iran over its nuclear program, the Xinhua news agency reports.

“Our deal with the Iranians is on track,” Churkin said, in response to a report by The New York Times that Moscow has told Tehran that it would withhold fuel for Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant unless Iran suspends its uranium enrichment program as demanded by the UN Security Council.

The New York Times, citing unnamed European, American and Iranian officials, reported that an ultimatum had been delivered in Moscow last week by Igor Ivanov, who heads the Russian National Security Council, to Ali Hosseini Tash, Iran’s deputy chief nuclear negotiator.

“I can tell you that the report is not accurate, that there have been no Russian ultimatums to Iran of any kind,” the Russian envoy said. “We continue to regard the Bushehr project as something which is outside the scope of Resolution 1737, and also outside the scope of the draft resolution which is being prepared now here in New York.”

“We continue to work on the Bushehr project as a separate economic project which has nothing to do with what the resolutions,” Churkin said.

“We are still working on it. We are discussing whatever economic circumstances there might be with Iranians. But we are not linking it to our discussions here in New York on Security Council resolutions and these concerns associated with Iranian nuclear programs.”

The UN Security Council is scheduled to hold formal consultations Wednesday on a draft resolution prepared by Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany on stronger sanctions on Iran over its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad plans to address the 15-member Security Council to defend its nuclear program on the day of the vote.

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