Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday there was still room for diplomacy rather than sanctions to produce a solution to the dispute with Iran over its nuclear program.

“We will concentrate all efforts on finding political and diplomatic solutions. These efforts have not yet been exhausted,” Lavrov told journalists during a trip to Paris.

Lavrov said his comments were in line with a statement by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who on Monday said Moscow would back new sanctions against Iran as long as they did not create a humanitarian crisis.

Lavrov is accompanying Medvedev on an official visit to France for talks that touched on Iran sanctions.