MOSCOW, March 27 (UPI) -- Russia warned the United States that putting to much pressure on Iran could turn the conflict over the country's nuclear plans into "a clash of civilizations."
The Russian warning came three days after the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted new sanctions, the Novosti news agency reported. The sanctions were less drastic than the United States wanted to secure.
"The international community should not risk escalating the situation around Iran and should wait for the U.S. to make a good-faith effort to normalize relations with Tehran," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement signed by President Vladimir Putin.
Putin said that former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami's visit to Washington last June showed that the United States and Iran can talk to each other.
