"The door is still open. We do hope for a diplomatic solution," Ferrero-Waldner told journalists after meeting Lavrov.
"We have tried and offered a very broad package with the constructive engagement of our Russian friends.... Unfortunately Iran has not answered positively," she said.
Lavrov declined to be drawn on Russia's attitude if the issue of imposing sanctions is discussed in the United Nations Security Council.
"At the moment, unfortunately or luckily, there is no resolution," he said.
"The consultations that we are currently conducting permit all the participants to better understand whether there are real prospects for finding an agreement that would open the way to negotiations," Lavrov said.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reiterated Monday that his country would not retreat even "an inch" over its nuclear programme, despite the mounting threat of UN sanctions.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2006