Putin says he is sure Iran not building nuclear arms

Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday gave Iran a boost in its face-off with the United States over its nuclear programme, saying he was convinced the Islamic Republic was not trying to build atomic weapons.

He said Russia would press on with nuclear cooperation with Tehran, which involves construction of a reactor at Bushehr in southern Iran.

Mr Putin's defence of Iran came in the face of US concerns that Tehran could be using Russian know-how as a cover to build nuclear arms and less than a week before he meets US President George W. Bush for a summit.

"The latest steps by Iran convince Russia that Iran indeed does not intend to produce nuclear weapons and we will continue to develop relations in all sectors, including peaceful atomic energy," Mr Putin told Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Hassan Rohani, at the start of Kremlin talks.

Mr Putin's remark was certain to give Iran some comfort in its confrontation with the Bush administration, which has branded the Islamic Republic part of an "axis of evil" states bent on trying to develop nuclear weapons.

The Kremlin leader did not spell out what he meant by "latest steps".

But he could have been referring to Iran's agreement last year to suspend its uranium enrichment programme - which can be used to make nuclear bombs - and its continuing talks with EU countries to find ways to settle the stand-off diplomatically.

His unusually strong backing for Iran seemed to open up the possibility of Iran becoming a point of friction at his summit talks with Mr Bush in the Slovak capital of Bratislava next Thursday.

US diplomats in Moscow have sought to play down the possibility of Iran spoiling the summit atmosphere. A senior US diplomat earlier this week said Washington had detected signs Moscow was beginning to share its suspicions about Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Washington has long criticised Russia for pressing ahead with construction of the 1,000-megawatt plant at Bushehr.