MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia has no evidence that Iran is trying to build a nuclear weapon, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday after talks in Moscow with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy.

""We do not have information that Iran is trying to create a nuclear weapon. We operate on the principle that Iran does not have those plans,"" Putin said.
He added that Russia shared the West's desire for Iran's nuclear program, in which Russia is building the first civilian power station, to be ""absolutely transparent.""
Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency have agreed on a timetable for addressing the remaining ambiguities about Iran’s nuclear activities. The IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei has called the agreement ""an important step in the right direction.""
According to the Associated Press, Sarkozy said the two countries had bridged some of their differences on the Iran nuclear standoff.
Sarkozy has taken a firm line on Iran in recent months, shifting closer to the United States in his insistence on tough UN Security Council sanctions agaisnt Tehran.
""Our positions moved much closer together"" on Iran and other sensitive subjects, Sarkozy told reporters during his first presidential visit to Russia. He mentioned ""many convergences"" on Iran but would not elaborate.