Putin plays down Iran bomb fears

BBC

Moscow has no information that Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.

But he said the Kremlin shared the West's concern that Tehran's nuclear programme should be "transparent".

Mr Putin was speaking after talks in Moscow with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who said the two countries had made progress on the Iran issue.

Iran denies accusations that it is seeking to build a nuclear bomb, saying its programme is for civilian use.

"We do not have data that says Iran is trying to produce nuclear weapons," Mr Putin said at a joint news conference with Mr Sarkozy.

"Therefore we proceed from a position that Iran has no such plans but we share the concern of our partners that all programmes should be as transparent as possible," the Russian leader added. ....