MOSCOW<$> — Russia said yesterday it believed Iran’s nuclear programme was peaceful, and a political dialogue, not sanctions, must be used in talks with Tehran.

“We do not have information that would suggest that Iran is carrying out a non-peaceful (nuclear) programme,” Russian Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov told a news conference in Moscow.

“We believe that the possibilities for continuing political discussion around this problem (Iran’s nuclear programme) have not been exhausted,” he said.