Putin tells Iran’s leader there is ‘real chance’ for nuclear deal

putinRussian President Vladimir Putin has told Iran’s Hassan Rouhani there was a «real chance» for a nuclear deal, two days before Tehran resumes talks with world powers, hoping to end a decade-long standoff over its atomic programme.

Russia is one of six world powers negotiating a proposal that would ease sanctions on Tehran if it suspends some parts of a programme that many countries, particularly in the West, fear is aimed at developing nuclear weapons capability.

«Vladimir Putin underlined that at the moment a real chance has appeared to find a solution to this long-running problem,» the Kremlin said after Putin telephoned Rouhani, elected president in June vowing to mend Iran’s international relations.

Israel opposes any deal to lift sanctions and France, one of the world powers at the talks, has said it would not back any such deal unless it were certain Iran has renounced any nuclear weapons programme.

Iran denies it is seeking weapons. But its refusal so far to curb its programme and lack of full openness with UN inspectors have drawn several rounds of U.N. sanctions and much harsher measures from the United States and Europe.

Two of the steps Western powers want Iran to take in the initial phase of any deal are to stop producing uranium enriched to a fissile concentration of 20 percent – a relatively short step from weapons-grade material – and to produce less 3.5 percent enriched uranium.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested Iran was prepared to do both.

Source: Buenos Aires Herald