MOSCOW, January 19 (RIA Novosti) - Relations between Russia and France are steadily improving, Russia's foreign minister said Thursday at the opening of talks with his French counterpart.
"We have particularly noticed that Russian-French relations are improving," Sergei Lavrov told Philippe Douste-Blazy, who is on a visit to Moscow to discuss Iran's nuclear program and other global issues.
After arriving in the Russian capital Wednesday evening, Philippe Douste-Blazy clearly stated his position on Iran's decision to resume research into uranium enrichment.
"No civilian program can justify these activities," he said.
The minister had urged the international community earlier to unite efforts to resolve the issue and said he hoped that Russia would support the position of a trio of nations representing the European Union at an emergency meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog.
Thanking Sergei Lavrov for his hospitality, the French foreign minister said that despite the cold weather in Moscow, "we feel warm in our hearts."
