Sarkozy was speaking after discussing the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The Iranian nuclear program is seen by some Western countries as a bid to develop nuclear weapons, despite repeated Iranian statements to the contrary.
"We have had a profound discussion on the matter and I listened to President Putin's analysis. I think our positions have become closer," Sarkozy said.
Sarkozy said that, despite slightly different approaches to analyzing the uranium enrichment program resumed by Iran in January 2006, Russia and France were unanimous that Iran was willing to cooperate on the issue.
"The most important thing is that they [Iran] are willing to cooperate," Sarkozy said.
The UN Security Council has adopted two rounds of sanctions against Iran for its refusal to halt enrichment, and the proclaimed launch of an industrial enrichment phase. Although angered by the sanctions, Tehran intensified cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, recently inviting inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit its nuclear facilities.
President Putin stressed the importance of transparency in the issue.
"We have no real data to claim that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, which makes us believe the country has no such plans. But we agree that Iran's programs must be transparent," Putin said.
