Russian president Vladimir Putin yesterday criticised what he called international efforts to "intimidate" Iran into abandoning its nuclear programme, arguing Tehran would not respond to such pressure.
"[The Iranian government] cannot be frightened, believe me," the Russian leader said at a joint press conference with Angela Merkel, German chancellor, in Wiesbaden, Germany.
His comments came on the eve of a trip to Iran that will be closely scrutinised by the international community. The visit, postponed several times and the first by a Russian or Soviet leader to Tehran since Joseph Stalin in 1943, will focus attention on what the US, in particular, sees as one of Russia's most troubling relationships.
The west will watch Mr Putin closely in his meeting with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to see how firmly he presses Iran to comply with United Nations Security Council demands to suspend its -uranium enrichment -programme.
The Russian president last week undercut suggestions by Nicolas Sarkozy, French president, that Russia was toughening its stance. Instead, he stuck to -Moscow's public position that there was "no real data to claim that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons", while insisting the programme must be transparent.
Russia has reluctantly signed up to two UN resolutions imposing sanctions over Tehran's refusal to halt enrichment, but is resisting US-led efforts for tougher sanctions. Some US politicians and commentators have charged Moscow with deliberately attempting to snub Washington and protect a lucrative commercial relationship with Iran.
Moscow has not helped western perceptions by signing a $1bn (£491m, €706m) deal in 2005 to sell air-defence systems to Iran, as well as its resistance to spelling out its position on Iran's nuclear programme.
But interviews with Russian officials and foreign policy experts reveal a more considered stance, rather than an impulsive desire to oppose the US. Officials insistRussia has even more incentive than the west to ensure neighbouring Iran does not acquire atomic weapons.
Stratfor, the US private intelligence firm, noted last week that the 900-mile range of the Shahab-3, Iran's medium-range ballistic missile, "brings a great many of Russia's industrial and population centres into potential striking distance".
Russia also has strong ties to Israel - which Mr Ahmadinejad threatened to "wipe off the map" - as 1m Russian Jews have emigrated there. Mr Putin told a meeting with the European Jewish Congress in Moscow last week that Israel and Russia were the two countries most threatened by Iran and were "complete partners in this matter".
Where Russia differs from the west is in assessing how imminent the threat is, and how to avert it. One senior Russian official who asked not to be named said any Iranian weapon was five to 10 years away. By then, the political situation - and regime - could have changed.
Dmitry Peskov, Mr Putin's deputy spokesman, said: "Russia firmly believes in the power of multilateral negotiations and bilateral diplomacy. And we think that political and diplomatic means still have lots of space to be explored in our relationship with Iran."
It would be particularly dangerous, Russian officials believe, to ratchet up sanctions to the point where Iran became a pariah state akin to North Korea. Feeling cornered, Tehran could withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty and go all-out to produce a bomb.
Russia has offered to create a joint venture on Russian soil to produce fuel for Iran's nuclear power programme and was irritated by Tehran's rebuff of the offer.
Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, will report soon on whether Iran is clearing up questions over its past nuclear activities. Diplomats say Moscow will then have to decide how tough it wishes to be.
Additional reporting by Hugh Williamson in Berlin, James Blitz in London, and Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran
