Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, clashed with Mahmoud Ahmadi- Nejad, Iran's president, yesterday over the Kremlin's support for tightening United Nations sanctions against Tehran.
During a summit in Turkey, Mr Putin said a fourth round of sanctions had been “practically agreed”. A resolution imposing these measures could be voted on by the UN Security Council as early as today.
But Mr Putin signalled that Russia had sought to moderate the sanctions. “I hold the opinion that this resolution should not be excessive, should not put Iran's leadership, the Iranian people in a tricky situation that creates barriers on the way to development of Iran's peaceful nuclear energy,” he said.