Reports from Baghdad said differences among the six world powers party to the talks with Iran have widened over a proper reaction to Tehran's offer of cooperation, FNA reported.
US officials said they wanted intensified sanctions against Iran if the latter rejected the West's package of proposals, while Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov who heads his country's delegation to the negotiations, reiterated Moscow's strong opposition to any further sanction against Tehran.
Before Iran and the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) started their today's negotiations in Baghdad, EU officials had announced that the world powers planned to present two different packages of proposals to Iran.
"The Europeans will present a new package to Iran in Baghdad and the package is different from the one proposed by Moscow," EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton's Chief Spokesman Michael Mann told FNA on the eve of the high-profile meeting.
Moscow has long been working on its step-by-step proposals to Iran and the West to build the two sides' confidence in each other in a gradual manner and now analysts believe that presenting Iran with two different packages of proposals means that the western powers have discarded the Russian proposal.
The western members of the G5+1 decided to work out a different package of proposals from the Russian package after their meetings in Berlin and Chicago.
The news came after a senior Russian diplomat had said late April that Iran and the western powers have both shown interest in Russia's step-by-step proposal for the settlement of the standoff over Iran's nuclear program.
Russia has been calling for a "step-by-step" resolution to the dispute over Iran's nuclear program.
Moscow has said Iran should take measures to ease concerns about its intentions and comply with UN demands, and in return be rewarded with the gradual easing of sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council and western states.
In a proposal aired in February, Russia said that as a start, Iran could freeze the number of centrifuges for uranium enrichment at current levels and place other restrictions on its centrifuge use. In return, global powers would refrain from imposing new sanctions on Tehran.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the proposal was discussed at talks in Istanbul on April 14 between Iran and six world powers - Russia, China, the United States, Britain, France and Germany - the first such meeting in over a year.
Ryabkov said Iran and the western powers indicated they were "interested" in the proposal, which he suggested was one of a number of ideas being discussed by the global powers as they seek to forge a common position among themselves and to find room for progress with Iran.
Meantime, after Iran and the world powers started their Wednesday morning session in Baghdad, the Iranian team of negotiators presented a package of proposals to the representatives of the G5+1.
The delegations of the world powers were due to express their views about Tehran's proposals during an evening session, which was first scheduled for scheduled for 18:00 Baghdad time (1500 GMT), but was delayed until Thursday morning.
Neither party has yet explained why the evening session was postponed.
FNA dispatches from Baghdad said the Iranian package was comprehensive and included five areas of nuclear and non-nuclear cooperation.
The Iranian step-by-step proposals offer practical steps to the western sides.
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