Russian President Dmitry Medvedev doubts that energy sanctions will be imposed against Iran.
"If we're talking about energy sanctions, I'll tell you my opinion. I don't think on that topic we have a chance to achieve a consolidated opinion of the global community," Medvedev told the ABC News TV channel.
He also said trade or arms trade sanctions were unlikely to be imposed.
"Sanctions should be smart. They should not lead to humanitarian catastrophe where the whole Iranian community would start to hate the whole world. And we're worried that there are a significant number of people who have radical opinions. Do we want these radical thoughts to be sent out to the whole world?" Medvedev said.
Medvedev is in Washington for an April 12-13 summit on nuclear safety.
Russia has consistently said that it wants to see the Iranian nuclear dispute resolved through diplomacy. However, Russia seems to be moving closer to the U.S. stance that sanctions are unavoidable.
"Tehran is not responding to a number of constructive compromise proposals and we cannot close our eyes to this," Medvedev said on Thursday.
MOSCOW, April 12 (RIA Novosti)
