Russia on Monday called on Iran to fulfil an agreement to send its uranium abroad for enrichment, Interfax news agency quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying.

The comments come after Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the Islamic Republic would enrich its own fuel for a Tehran research reactor.

Iran had last year indicated it would send low-enriched uranium abroad in return for fuel to use in the Tehran reactor.

"The way out of the current situation is for Iran to fulfil the agreement reached in Geneva on October 1 last year," the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Iran has rejected Western overtures and the international community has no choice but to move toward imposing new sanctions over its nuclear programme.

"We must still try and find a peaceful way to resolve this issue. The only path that is left to us at this point, it seems to me, is that pressure track but it will require all of the international community to work together," Gates said at a joint news conference with French Defence Minister Herve Morin. - Reuters