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| Putin rejects Iran nuclear claims | |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Moscow has no information that Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. | Moscow has no information that Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. |
| But he said Moscow shared the West's concerns that Tehran's nuclear programme had to be "transparent". | But he said Moscow shared the West's concerns that Tehran's nuclear programme had to 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. | 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. | 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. We do not have such objective data," 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. | |
| Meanwhile, Mr Sarkozy said that Paris and Moscow had made progress in ironing out their differences on the Iran issue. | |
| He said that their positions were moving "towards the same path". | |
| Mr Sarkozy has been pushing for tougher sanctions against Tehran but Russia has opposed the move. | |
| Mr Sarkozy said earlier that the two leaders had bridged differences over the issue of Kosovo's future status. | |
| "We saw a path which could eventually allow us to bring our views closer," he said. | |
| Russia is fiercely opposed to independence for Serbia's breakaway province, while France - along with other Western nations - supports it. |