Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signalled that Moscow might be prepared to soften¹ its opposition² to sanctions against Iran over its nuclear plans.

俄罗斯总统梅德韦杰夫告知，莫斯科准备缓和对于伊朗核计划的制裁。

Mr Obama said he and Mr Medvedev broadly agreed on Iran

Mr Medvedev, speaking after talks with US President Barack Obama, said that in some cases sanctions were "inevitable³".

Earlier, a Russian official said Moscow could support fresh sanctions if there was enough evidence from UN inspectors⁴.

Mr Obama hopes to establish an agreed position ahead of talks next week with Tehran on its nuclear programme.

Analysts⁵ say that if those talks yield nothing he wants to pursue tougher sanctions against Tehran.

Russia has so far opposed any fresh sanctions.

But last week President Obama dropped plans for an anti-missile defence shield close to Russian borders.

There was speculation⁶（沉思，推测） that in exchange, Moscow would make a move on sanctions against Iran.

Stance eased

Mr Medvedev said sanctions were rarely productive but he opened the door to the possibility if Iran pressed ahead with its suspected nuclear weapons programme.

"Sanctions rarely lead to productive results, but in some cases sanctions are inevitable," he said after he and Mr Obama met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

"We need to help Iran to (make) the right decisions," he said.

Mr Obama said he and Mr Medvedev shared the goal of allowing Iran to pursue peaceful nuclear energy, but not nuclear weapons.

"Unfortunately, Iran has been violating too many of its international commitments," Mr Obama said.

"What we have discussed is how we can move in a positive direction that can resolve a potential crisis."

Speaking earlier, an unnamed Russian official reported to be a member of Moscow's delegation⁷（代表团，委派） to New York, did not rule out UN sanctions against Iran "if there are objective grounds", Russia's state-run RIA-Novosti reported.

For Russia, "the criteria⁸ are not individual evaluations⁹, not guesswork, but the report and recommendations of the (UN) International Atomic Energy Agency", the official reportedly said.

Those comments were quickly welcomed by the White House.

"Their willingness to play a constructive¹⁰ role is extremely important," said Robert Gibbs, quoted by AFP news agency.

Six powers

Tehran says its nuclear programme is for civilian¹¹ uses（民事用途） only, but Western powers suspect it is trying to develop a nuclear weapon.

Six world powers are to hold talks with Iranian officials on 1 October that are expected to cover global nuclear disarmament.

Iran's nuclear plans have also come under fire at the UN General Assembly.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Iranian leaders were "making a tragic¹² mistake" if they thought the international community would not respond.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned Iran - and North Korea - that the world would be even tougher on proliferation.