The Russian president has said that Iran should not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons, and that the world should offer incentives to help Tehran make the "right decision".
"Our task is to maintain a system of incentives allowing Iran to use peaceful nuclear energy but [we] will not allow the creation of nuclear weapons," Dmitry Medvedev said after talks on Wednesday with his American counterpart Barack Obama.
"We believe it is necessary to help Iran make the right decision," he added after the talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
The US and Europe has long accused Tehran of using its uranium enrichment programme for the eventual production of a nuclear weapon. Iran says its programme is aimed solely towards the peaceful generation of electricity.
Medvedev appeared to suggest that Moscow was moving closer to backing fresh sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme, saying that while such tactics were rarely productive they were sometimes "inevitable".
The apparent concord between Washington and Moscow on how best to address Iran's nuclear question comes days after the Obama administration announced that it would cancel plans to station missile interceptors and radar bases in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Russia had criticised that missile defence plan, saying that Washington was threatening its national security.
Obama said on Wednesday that Iran was running short of time in which to be open to the world on its sensitive nuclear work.
"Serious additional sanctions remain a possibility," he said, urging Tehran to "seize the opportunity" at the talks with the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany.
Obama said the extra sanctions could come into force if Iran did not respond to serious negotiations.
The US president also said he and Medvedev shared the view that the Iran nuclear issue "should be resolved diplomatically."
Moscow and Washington are considering the scope of a new treaty to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start), which expires in December.
Source: Al Jazeera (English)
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