We remain committed to the dual-track approach" of pressure through sanctions coupled with negotiations
A Turkish diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity that Ankara was trying to persuade Iran not to abandon talks if sanctions were imposed.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, whose country has decided to back the UN moves,
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"Our point of view is that these decisions should not be excessive and should not put the Iranian people in a complicated position which would put up barriers on the path to peaceful nuclear energy," Putin was quoted by Russia's ITAR-TASS as saying.
US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, said Washington still hoped "to persuade Iran to halt its nuclear program and negotiate constructively and in earnest with the international community."
"We remain committed to the dual-track approach" of pressure through sanctions coupled with negotiations, she added.
Ahmadinejad however urged Western powers not to dismiss a Turkish-Brazilian nuclear fuel swap brokered last month which he described as an opportunity that should be "put to good use."
"Opportunities will not be repeated," he warned on the sidelines of a regional meeting.
Brazil and Turkey have pushed for an open debate in the Security Council on the nuclear standoff with Iran before the vote to make their case that sanctions will be counterproductive.
Under the deal they brokered, Iran agreed to ship 1,200 kilograms (2,640 pounds) of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) to Turkey in return for high-enriched uranium fuel for a Tehran reactor that would be supplied later by Russia and France.
But the six world powers which have been trying to clip Iran's nuclear ambitions only greeted the deal coolly.
In a nod to Brazil and Turkey, the draft UN text does note the efforts of the two countries "toward an agreement with Iran on the Tehran Research Reactor that could serve as a confidence-building measure.
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It remained unclear whether Brazil, Turkey and Lebanon will vote against the new UN resolution or abstain.
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