Russia will continue to seek a political solution to the Iranian nuclear issue, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, a day after Iran responded to an international package of incentives aimed at resolving the nuclear standoff.

"Russia will continue the course of searching for a political solution to the situation surrounding the Iranian nuclear program, and will continue to seek to preserve the role of the IAEA and prevent the erosion of the nonproliferation regime," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

The IAEA, short for the International Atomic Energy Agency, is the UN's nuclear watchdog agency.

To lure Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment, Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany put forward an international package in mid-June offering incentives and multilateral talks to Iran.

The package reportedly included talks with the United States, Western help to build nuclear reactors for Iran, a guaranteed supply of nuclear fuel and permission for Iran to buy aircraft and spare parts if Tehran suspends uranium enrichment.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani on Tuesday submitted Iran's formal response to the envoys from China, Russia, France, Germany, Britain and Switzerland, which is representing the United States as Washington has no diplomatic relations with Tehran.

No details of the reply were available for the time being, but officials close to the meeting said the response had offered a "new formula" to resolve the issue.

Russia is studying the Iranian reply and ready "to continue to use the multilateral mechanisms and the potential of the UN Security Council as well as bilateral contacts with Iran" to find a political solution, Kamynin said.

The UN Security Council in late July adopted a resolution giving Iran until Aug. 31 to stop uranium enrichment or face possible economic and diplomatic sanctions.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said last week his country would not accept the UN Security Council resolution.

The United States accuses Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons under a civilian front, but Iran insists its nuclear program is aimed at generating power to meet surging domestic demand.