UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany, the so-called 5+1 group, are seeking an ""early negotiated solution"" to the nuclear standoff with Iran, according to a copy of a draft statement obtained Wednesday by AFP.

The draft was due to be finalized when U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets her counterparts from Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany at 11:15 am (1515 GMT) on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
""We reaffirmed our determination and commitment to seek an early negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear issue and focused our discussion on further practical steps to achieve it at an early date,"" the draft said.
The draft said the six powers are ""ready to engage with Iran"" in the context of implementing a nuclear fuel swap deal that was agreed in Geneva in October last year, adding they looked forward to an ""early meeting"" with Iran.
Under the deal, Iran would ship most of its low-grade uranium to France and Russia so that it could be enriched and returned to Iran to fuel a medical research reactor in Tehran.
But it stalled as Iran sought to modify its terms in a new agreement brokered by Brazil and Turkey.
In Vienna, Tomur Bayer, Turkish ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, renewed calls for the six powers to accept the modified deal when he addressed the IAEA's annual conference.
""We call on all relevant parties to implement the agreement without further due,"" Bayer said.
The draft also said the chief diplomats discussed the new sanctions.
""We confirmed the need for Iran to comply with the UN Security Council, and IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) Board of Governors requirements,"" the draft said.
Clinton spokesman Philip Crowley told AFP that Washington does not respond to leaked statements, but signaled continued U.S. willingness to engage Iran in a constructive dialogue.
""If Iran is ready for serious discussions, all they have to do is let us know,"" he said in an email.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in New York to attend the UN General Assembly meeting, told media that his country was ready to resume talks with world powers over its nuclear program.
The UN sanctions had also damaged the chances for an improvement in U.S.-Iranian relations, he added. He blamed international politics for the growing tensions over the nuclear program.
""Iran's nuclear case is a political case,"" the New York Times quoted him as saying. ""Otherwise, why would it be essential for the details of our nuclear program be made available to the media?""