MOSCOW, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Iran is still considering uranium enrichment on Russian soil, a deal that might end the crisis.
"One of the big problems is the enrichment of uranium," Putin said at a news conference after meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Moscow. "We have heard various opinions from our Iranian partners on that issue. One of them has come from the foreign ministry. Our partners told us they did not exclude the implementation of our proposal."
Iran can, under its international obligations, enrich uranium, but the West fears Teheran is secretly and illegally using the process to build a nuclear bomb. The Islamic Republic claims its program is for purely civil purposes.
"We shouldn't take abrupt steps," Putin said, but added that Russia, the United States and its European partners were "very close" when it comes to a stance over Iran's nuclear program.
