Russia would continue cooperation with other countries at the United Nations in order to settle Iran's nuclear problem, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Kremlin on Wednesday.

"We have no data that Iran seeks to produce nuclear weapons. We believe that it has no such plans ... But we share concerns by our partners to make Iran's programs open and transparent. We consent that in recent years Iran has taken steps towards this direction," Putin was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.

Iran "is taking certain steps towards the international community. We continue close cooperate with our partners at the UN Security Council and intend to join efforts in this direction," he said.

"This is very important what President Putin said," Sarkozy said.

But he added that France was likely to have "other information" on Iran's nuclear program. The main thing in this direction "is the wish to cooperate," Sarkozy said. "I believe that this is the most important element. This is related to the whole planet," he added.

Putin also said Russia is ready to closely cooperate with other countries, including with the EU, on Iran's nuclear problem. "I hope that France's presidency in the EU will strengthen Russia-EU relations."

(Xinhua News Agency October 11, 2007)