Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a news briefing with visiting French leader Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday that he has not seen any real evidence that Iran
is trying to build a nuclear weapon.
"We do not have data that says Iran is trying to produce nuclear weapons. We do not have such objective data," Putin said.
| In Tehran |
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| Iran says developed new smart bomb / Dudi Cohen |
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FARS news agency reports Islamic Republic successfully developed optically-guided one-ton bomb called 'Qader,' or 'strength' |
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"Therefore we proceed from a position that Iran has no such plans but we share the concern of our partners that all programs should be as transparent as possible.
"We are sharing our partners' concern about making all Iranian programs transparent," Putin said.
"We agreed yesterday, and Mr. President confirmed it, that Iran is making certain steps toward international community to achieve that," he added.
Putin is to make his first visit to Iran early next week for a summit of Caspian Sea nations. Sarkozy said Putin's trip to Tehran could encourage Iran to be more cooperative.
"After the trip, there could be a will to cooperate - that is essential," he said.
Russia has opposed the US-push for tougher sanctions against Iran and called for more checks and inspections of Iranian facilities by an international nuclear watchdog.
"We have worked cooperatively with our partners at the United Nations Security Council, and we intend to continue such cooperative work in the future," Putin said.
AP contributed to this report
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