Putin sees real chance for Iran n-talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that there is a "real chance" to tackle the Iranian nuclear issue, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Following a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani, Putin said Monday that he believes there will be an opportunity to find a solution to the stand-off.

Rouhani, for his part, praised the efforts of Russia in the group of six international mediators alongside Britain, China, France, Germany and the US, reported Xinhua citing the statement.

Iran and the six world powers held talks earlier this month in a bid to reach a preliminary agreement on its nuclear programme. While the talks fell apart, a second round is slated for Wednesday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Wednesday's talks could be switched to ministerial-level.

"Depending on the course of the work, we will be ready to organise a ministerial segment of this event as we did previously, and see whether we have common ground," Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.

Western powers and Israel accuse Iran of using its nuclear programme to build weapons while the Islamic Republic insists its right to explore nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.