Russia, Iran agree to further nuclear discussion

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RIA Novosti, PUBLISHED January 18, 2011

The Russian and Iranian leaders agreed on Monday to continue discussions on the Islamic republic's controversial nuclear program, ahead of the resumption of UN talks.

"An agreement has been achieved to continue discussions in different multilateral formats," the Kremlin said.

The statement comes after a telephone conversation between Dmitry Medvedev and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad earlier on Monday.

The two leaders pledged to continue energy cooperation, including on the Russian-built Bushehr power plant in Iran, the statement said.

Iran's acting foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, said last week Iran would not discuss its nuclear program during talks in Istanbul on January 21-22 with the five permanent UN Security Council members (the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France) plus Germany.

Russia, China and the EU rejected Iran's invitation to tour its nuclear facilities earlier this month, while the United States was not invited.

Iran said it was a gesture of goodwill and transparency, but Washington dismissed the offer as "a clever ploy."

The West suspects Iran of developing nuclear weapons, but Tehran says its program is for peaceful civilian purposes.

Topics: Russia, Iran

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