Russian President Vladimir Putin said today he believed global powers and Iran will "soon" reach a compromise in talks on Tehran's nuclear programme.
"A compromise should be found," Putin said after hosting a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the Urals city of Ufa, where he met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani yesterday.
"In my opinion, it will be found soon," he said.
Talks toward a nuclear deal dragged into a 14th day on today, with Tehran accusing the West of backtracking and Washington saying it was prepared to walk away.
But Putin said he was hopeful that Iran and the P5+1 group - Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- would soon agree on guarantees for a successful resolution.
"Not only Iran and talks participants but all of the countries in the region including Arab countries and Israel are interested in this," Putin said.
"We proceed from the fact that all sanctions against Iran should be lifted," he said, stressing that this should happen "as soon as possible."
"We believe this is not the way to solve international problems," he said.
Iran has insisted that changes be made to the United Nations arms embargo and restrictions on missile sales be eased, a prospect that alarms Tehran's rivals and US allies in the region.
Putin forcefully denounced sanctions in general, as Russia reels from Western punitive measures over the Ukraine crisis.
"We proceed from the fact that instruments such as sanctions should be completely removed from the international economic lexicon and communication," Putin said.
"They should not be used in world economy because they turn it upside down."
Russia has been hit hard by Western sanctions over Moscow's involvement in the conflict in Ukraine, with Putin admitting that punitive measures had contributed to the country's economic turmoil.
Putin conceded that the scrapping of sanctions would likely see Iran ramp up oil output but said that the global economy would adjust.
"We are absolutely ready for this," he said.
The Russian strongman, who also hosted a summit of the BRICS emerging economies in Ufa this week, criticised the European Union's handling of the Greek crisis and appeared to defend Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
"Of course, the Greeks can be blamed for everything, but where was the European Commission if there were violations in their work?" Putin said.
