Russia is against a planned meeting Thursday of the six powers negotiating on Iran's nuclear program, the foreign ministry said in a statement that referred to U.S. attempts to "punish" Moscow.
"We do not see any fire that requires us to toss everything aside and meet to discuss Iran's nuclear program in the middle of a packed week at the United Nations General Assembly," the ministry said in a statement.
Foreign ministers from the six powers were to meet Thursday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York to consider possible further sanctions against Iran, the French foreign ministry said this week.
Moscow's statement apparently meant Russia was walking out of the meeting.
It was also an official response to U.S. suggestions that the United States and Russia could work together in some areas but not others, suggesting that Moscow was using the Iran nuclear issue against the United States.
"It would be very desirable for Washington to finally decide what it wants in its relations with Moscow. If it wants to punish Russia, this is one thing. If it agrees we have common interests...that is another," the ministry said.
"To use the words of Condoleezza Rice, you can't have it both ways," it added, referring to a phrase that the U.S. secretary of state has used in criticizing Russia's conflict with Georgia last month.
The war with Georgia, a U.S. ally, led to the worst chill in relations between Moscow and Washington since the Cold War, and prompted U.S. officials to say Russia could face isolation.
Russia is seen as an important player in the talks over Iran's nuclear program, as one of the six countries along with the U.K., China, France, Germany and the United States.