By GEORGE JAHN
The Associated Press
Wednesday, November 8, 2006; 4:51 PM

VIENNA, Austria -- Russia has crossed out large sections of a U.N. Security Council draft proposing broad U.S.-backed sanctions on Tehran's nuclear and missile programs, according to a document obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.

The paper outlines Moscow's proposed amendments to a Security Council draft resolution drawn up by Britain and France and broadly endorsed by the United States. Russia's changes weaken the draft resolution's demands that Tehran stop working on a reactor that can produce plutonium and that Iran allow tougher U.N. inspections of its nuclear program. They also delete any reference to Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant, which Russia is helping build.

In a draft presented earlier this month, the United States reluctantly agreed to European proposals to exempt Bushehr from sanctions, in attempts to placate Moscow and gain its support for sanctions meant to punish Tehran's refusal to freeze uranium enrichment.

But U.N. diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the Russian amendments had not been officially announced, said the Kremlin wanted no mention whatsoever of Bushehr. That stance was meant to reflect Russia's view that the plant should not be linked to international concerns that Tehran might be trying to develop nuclear arms.

Much of Moscow's 11-page document consists of passages in the original Western draft struck through by Russian negotiators, reflecting Moscow's insistence on reducing sanctions to the minimum needed to directly target enrichment, which can generate both nuclear energy or be used to make the fissile core of warheads.

John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said he did not want to discuss specifics of the dispute but told reporters: "There are a lot of differences, no doubt about it."

"Obviously we've got to get some direction from capitals, given the disparity," he said, adding that the five permanent U.N. Security Council members _ the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France _ planned another meeting later in the week.

Other senior Security Council diplomats also acknowledged the divide.

"Clearly, I think in a number of difficult areas the differences cannot be bridged, so I believe there should be more reflections in the capitals," China's Ambassador Wang Guangya said Tuesday.

In contrast to the Russian amendments, the European draft resolution orders all countries to ban the supply of material and technology that could contribute to Iran's nuclear and missile programs and to impose a travel ban and asset freeze on companies, individuals and organizations involved in those programs.

It would exempt from restrictions the initial nuclear power plant being built by the Russians at Bushehr but not the nuclear fuel needed for the reactor. It also would limit assistance to Iran by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, to food, agriculture, medical and humanitarian programs. And it would ban countries from teaching or training Iranians in disciplines that would contribute to Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Sharpening the dispute with Russia, the United States has proposed amendments that would strengthen the measures proposed by Britain and France.

In September, Russia agreed to ship fuel to Bushehr by March 2007, adding to concerns of the U.S. and others over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Moscow's draft also was lenient on Arak, an Iranian heavy water research reactor scheduled for completion in 2009.

One of the byproducts of heavy-water reactors is plutonium, which can be used in building nuclear weapons. In the Western draft, the council "decides that Iran shall suspend work" on the Arak facility. The Russian version instead "calls upon Iran to reconsider" its construction.

Similarly, while the Western draft "decides ... that Iran shall without delay" implement its Additional Protocol with the IAEA, the Russian version only "urges" Iran to implement the agreement that would allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to more thoroughly probe Tehran's nuclear program.

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Associated Press writers Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations, Henry Meyer in Moscow and Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.