Putin urges closer cooperation between Iran, IAEA

President Vladimir Putin urged closer cooperation between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over the country's nuclear dossier in a telephone conversation Tuesday with his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The presidents discussed Iran's nuclear dossier in light of the upcoming session of the IAEA board of governors, scheduled for late November, the Kremlin press service said in a statement.

"The conversation addressed the need to resolve all issues within the IAEA's legal jurisdiction through political means. In that context, Putin spoke for closer relations between Iran and the IAEA, taking into account the possibility of resuming the negotiating process," the Kremlin said.

The conversation was initiated by the Iranian side, it added.

Putin's conversation with the Iranian leader came just a day after talks between the foreign ministers of the two countries in Moscow.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, agreed in the talks Monday that a solution to the dispute over Iran's nuclear program should be sought within the IAEA.

The United States accuses Iran of seeking nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear program. Iran, however, says its nuclear program is dedicated exclusively to power generation.

Germany, France and Britain, representing the European Union ( EU), had been negotiating with Iran to persuade it to scrap uranium enrichment, but the talks collapsed after Iran ended a freeze on uranium conversion in August.

The EU trio have warned of hauling Iran before the UN Security Council for possible sanctions. If they do, Iran has said, it would not back down.

Source: Xinhua