Russian officials said Wednesday that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has told them Tehran is prepared for closer cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"We heard a reassurance from the Iranian president that additional steps will be made to ensure greater transparency of the Iranian nuclear program as part of contacts between Tehran and the IAEA," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after a meeting between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Ahmadinejad and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

"The Iranian president has once again declared unequivocally that he has no intention of possessing a nuclear weapon," Lavrov said. "This will be Iran's official firm and invariable position in all practical affairs."

The West suspects that Iran's uranium enrichment may be meant for producing nuclear weapons, which has been denied by Iranian officials.

"The problem seems to have gone into the background, because other parties to the negotiating process are apparently too preoccupied with the Middle East and North Africa. Even though we are also quite concerned about what is happening in that part of the world, we find it wrong to forget about the continuing stalemate over the Iranian nuclear program," Lavrov said.

For that very reason Medvedev initiated the meeting in Astana, he said.

"At the meeting the issue of the need for more constructive interaction with the sextet, and most importantly for greater transparency in contacts with the IAEA, was raised with the president of Iran," Lavrov said.

The six nations consist the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France - and Germany.