Putin talks with Iran directly

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday agreed the U.S. offer of direct talks with Iran "This is a very important step, which gives the whole process a new dimension," Putin told foreign media executives at a meeting in his residence in the Moscow suburbs.

Photo: Putin talks with Iran directly

"We are against the use of force in any circumstances," Putin said. "As for sanctions, it is too early to talk about that yet. It is necessary to conduct a thorough discussion with the Iranian leadership."

"We are convinced that there is no sensible alternative other than talks to resolving these problems, as with other crisis situations in the modern world," the ministry said in a statement. It added that Moscow "hopes that the participation of the USA in the talks process will lead to an improvement in American-Iranian relations", informs “Pravda.ru” yesterday.

The president's comments followed this week's offer by the United States to hold direct talks with Iran on the controversy over its nuclear program, on the condition that Iran halt enriching uranium. Iran rebuffed that condition, repots the AP.

N.U.