Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 5 / Trend S.Isayev/
Russian and Iranian presidents, Dmitri Medvedev and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad discussed over the phone the nuclear program issue, and the status of the Caspian Sea, RIA Novosti reported.
Presidents' topics of discussion also included the Middle East situation, Syria in particular.
Speaking about the situation in the Middle East, Ahmadinejad and Medvedev expressed the conviction that the solution of problems in the region, including the situation in Syria is only possible through political means, through dialogue of all sides.
Presidents supported the efforts of the UN, regional and other international organizations to achieve this goal.
Dmitri Medvedev welcomed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's positive assessment of the Russian initiative - a phase-out plan to restore confidence in the Iranian nuclear program, according to Kremlin's press office.
The sides agreed to continue consultations on this issue.
The US sanctions as well as unilateral embargoes imposed on Iran's energy and financial sectors by Britain and Canada came after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a report on Iranian nuclear program early November, accusing Tehran of seeking to weaponize its nuclear technology.
Despite the widely publicized claims by the US, Israel and some of their European allies that Iran's nuclear program may include a military diversion, Iran insists that its nuclear program has a civilian nature. Tehran argues that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the IAEA, it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
Ahmadinejad and Medvedev also spoke for intensifying efforts to develop a convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea and stressed the importance of implementing agreements reached at the Third Caspian Summit in Baku.
In July 1998, Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the delineation of the northern part of the Caspian Sea to exercise sovereign rights for subsoil use. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on the delineation of the Caspian Sea on Nov. 29, 2001, and Feb. 27, 2003.
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delineation of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea on May 14, 2003. In November 2003, the Caspian countries signed the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea.