Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh issued a joint statement in Moscow on Monday, calling for the resolution of the issue through diplomatic channels and dialogue.

In their joint statement, Moscow and New Delhi recognized Iran’s right to continue using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in accordance with the international obligations of the Islamic Republic.

The Indian prime minister arrived in Moscow on October 20 for an official visit to sign a series of agreements on trade, nuclear energy and defense equipment on the sidelines of the 14th annual Russian-Indian summit.

The Indian premier hailed Russia’s valuable role in resolving disputes and misunderstandings in the issue of Iranian nuclear energy program.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said on Thursday that "I would not understate the importance of this round".

The United States, the Israeli regime and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program, with the US and the European Union using the unsubstantiated claim as an excuse to impose illegal sanctions against Tehran.

The bans come on top of four rounds of US-instigated UN Security Council sanctions against Iran under the same pretext.

Iran has strongly rejected the allegation, stressing that as a committed member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it is entitled to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

NTJ/BA