Russia hopeful over renewed int'l talks with Iran

Russia's foreign minister voiced hope for a quick resumption of international talks on Iran's nuclear program, but it remained unclear whether the Kremlin had succeeded in persuading Teheran to soften its stance in talks with a top Iranian official. "We will push for our common goal - the resumption of talks with six nations," Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a statement Saturday after Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani. "In the nearest days, we will continue contacts with members of the six, which have proposed relevant ideas to Iran as a basis for talks," Lavrov added. "Iran has responded to these proposals, and we think it's possible, if there is goodwill, to find a mutually acceptable basis for the resumption of talks on the basis of the proposals of the six and Iran's response to them. We will work in that direction."