The meeting at a mansion in central Moscow was seen as one of the last opportunities to iron out differences ahead of the July 15-17 summit in Saint Petersburg of leaders of the G8, which comprises Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

Arriving at the talks, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he would meet Iranian officials, probably next Wednesday, to discuss proposals by the UN Security Council members plus Germany aimed at allaying Western concerns about Tehran's nuclear programme.

In Tehran, Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larjani said he would meet Solana in Spain.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said that Iran must reply to the international plan before the July 15-17 G8 summit.

"It seems clear to me that Iran must say yes. Then there will be negotiations," Douste-Blazy said.

The ministers were also expected to address the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East prompted by the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier and a massive Israeli military operation in the Palestinian territory.

Douste-Blazy said France condemned the overnight arrest by Israeli troops of 64 members of the Palestinian governing party Hamas.

"We condemn of course all the arrests of political personnel," Douste-Blazy said. France "condemns all the violence, particularly the latest, in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict... There is no other solution than a political process."

Russia has played a significant role in the standoff over Iran's nuclear programme, being a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a close ally of Tehran, as well as constructing Iran's first nuclear power station.

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday underlined his differences with the West on the Iran issue, saying Russia did not intend "to join any sort of ultimatum, which only pushes the situation into a dead end".

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said earlier that in addition to Iran and the Middle East, the G8 ministers would talk about democracy in Russia and Belarus.

Speaking to CNN in the Afghan capital, Rice expressed a desire for Russia to "enhance its commitment to democratic development" and referred to Belarus and other "places that have yet to see a democratic future".

Amid reports that Moscow wants to limit discussion of its human rights record or commitment to democracy at next month's summit, a senior Kremlin official defended Russia's role in ex-communist Europe.

"Moscow has done much more for democracy in central Europe than Washington or London," said the deputy head of Putin's office, Vladislav Surkov, on Wednesday. "It's Moscow which democratised this immense space."

But if Russia hopes to avoid discussion of accusations that it is back-sliding on democracy and media freedom, the British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said that Britain had concerns about human rights and the rule of law in Russia.