Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Friday that any oil-for-goods deal between Moscow and Iran would follow United Nations rules on sanctions, not U.S. rules.
Siluanov would not say whether a deal had been sealed with Iran.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warned Siluanov on Thursday on the sidelines of a International Monetary Fund-World Bank meeting in Washington that any oil-for-goods deal Moscow might strike with Iran could run afoul of U.S. sanctions.
Lew also said that a deal would run counter to an agreement between Iran and six world powers, including the U.S. and Russia, in which Tehran promised to curb its nuclear program in return for a modest easing in Western sanctions. The sanctions were imposed to choke off Iran's oil revenues.
"We act on the basis of the decisions made by the United Nations that set sanctions, set product groups which would be sanctioned and we operate within those decisions," Siluanov told journalists.
"There is a nuance. Our American partners have their own legislation which differs somewhat from the provisions set by the United Nations and they follow their own rules."
Last week, it was reported that Iran and Russia had made progress on a barter deal that could be worth up to $20 billion, under which Moscow would provide Russian equipment and goods in exchange for Iranian oil.