The two veto-wielding UN Security Council members announced their stances after Western governments said they would prefer additional Security Council measures against Tehran since the latest International Atomic Energy Agency report, released on Tuesday, claimed Iran appeared to have worked on designing a nuclear weapon.
Iran has called the new report politically motivated, unbalanced, and unprofessional.
On Wednesday, Russia vehemently criticized the IAEA report, saying it contained no new evidence and was being used to undercut efforts to reach a diplomatic solution, Reuters reported.
Sharpening opposition to any new sanctions against Iran in the UN Security Council, senior Russian diplomats said further punitive measures would be "destructive" and urged a revival of talks between Tehran and global powers.
"According to our initial evaluations, there is no fundamentally new information in the report," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"We are talking about a compilation of known facts, given a politicized tone," it said, adding that interpretations of the report brought to mind the use of faulty intelligence to seek support for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Russia's point man for Iran diplomacy, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, said Moscow opposed "strengthening sanctions pressure on Iran" and is trying to bring other nations in line with that stance, Itar-Tass reported.
"We are showing them the faulty and destructive nature of that policy," Ryabkov said.
Russia has grudgingly approved four rounds of UN sanctions on Iran after watering them down, with China. But it has criticized Western states for imposing additional punitive measures and signaled in recent months that it would oppose a new push for sanctions in the Security Council.
Russia is instead calling for a step-by-step process under which existing sanctions would be eased in return for actions by Tehran to dispel international concerns.
Moscow criticizes IAEA report
In its statement, the Foreign Ministry said discussions of the IAEA report had turned into a tool for attempts to scuttle the Russian initiative and doom chances for a diplomatic settlement, warning that could sow confrontation.
"Russia is very concerned that the report is being used to undermine efforts by the international community for the swiftest possible political and diplomatic resolution of the situation surrounding Iran's nuclear program," it said.
"We also see in this an attempt to deliver a blow to Russian initiatives whose aim to foster a solution."
China says no reason to target its firms over Iran
China and Iran have normal business ties which should not be targeted by any new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday, repeating that in any case sanctions were not the solution.
"Just like many countries, China and Iran have transparent and normal commercial dealings," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a daily news briefing.
"These dealings benefit the peoples of both countries. They do not harm the interests of other countries nor the international community and they do not violate Security Council resolutions. Even less do they detract from China's stance on nuclear proliferation," he added.
"I wish to reiterate that dialogue and cooperation are the most effective channel for resolving the Iran nuclear issue. Pressure and sanctions do not help to fundamentally resolve the problem."
PA/PA
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MNA