Main news of December 17

* Russia held bilateral consultations in Beijing with the other parties to the six-nation talks on the North Korea nuclear problem, a source close to the Russian delegation said

* Russia will seek the Korean peninsula's nuclear-free status at six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear program, a source close to the Russian delegation in Beijing said

* Iran will continue its nuclear program, even if the UN Security Council imposes sanctions on the Islamic Republic, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said

* Residents in Ukraine's Black Sea autonomy of Crimea overwhelming voted at a people's referendum against the country's accession to NATO, the referendum's election commission said

* Moldova's breakaway province of Transdnestr hopes for closer and long-term relations with Russia, the president of the unrecognized republic said

* Russia won the 4x10-kilometer men's relay at a World Cup cross-country skiing competition in France's La Clusaz