Talks with Iran about a Russian plan to resolve international tensions over Tehran's nuclear program are not progressing easily, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.
"The negotiations in Moscow are not going easily," Putin said during a joint news conference in Baku with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
However, Putin added that "We hope that we will be able to achieve a positive result."
He said the Iranian negotiators had taken a "pause" to hold further consultations in Tehran and that the Russian proposal -- to enrich uranium for use as nuclear fuel jointly with Iran at a site on Russian territory -- would be acceptable to Iran.
"We think that the Russian suggestion for resolving the crisis through creation of a joint venture for the enrichment of uranium is acceptable for Iran," Putin said.
His comments came after Iranian officials said that they were hopeful that a Russian compromise to end the crisis over Iran's nuclear programme would bear fruit.
Ali Hosseini-Tash said the negotiations in Moscow had been positive and gave Tehran the "hope of reaching an agreement".
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was markedly more cautious.
{{/usCountry}}Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was markedly more cautious.
{{/usCountry}}"I think it would be premature to use terms such as failure or success," he said, after the talks.