 Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday he still saw a chance of Russia striking a deal with Iran, which could defuse an international crisis over TehranÂ’s nuclear ambitions and boost MoscowÂ’s international profile.
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But a source close to talks, at which Russian and Iranian delegates discussed Moscow’s proposal to enrich uranium for Tehran, was quoted as saying the sides had stumbled on a crucial point on which neither was ready to compromise. An agreement to pursue discussions this week during a visit to Tehran by the head of Russia’s nuclear agency Rosatom was the only visible result of two days of talks that ended on Tuesday. “The negotiations are not easy but we are counting on reaching a positive result,” Putin said in the Azerbaijan capital Baku. “We are not losing optimism.” |