(PTI): France has welcomed an offer by Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to buy higher enriched uranium from other countries.

“It’s for the research reactor and we have made a response that is fairly positive,” France’s Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said after his talks with Russian officials.

Last week, Ahmadinejad told the Washington Post that Iran needs to buy 20 percent enriched uranium.

“We have a reactor in Tehran that produces nuclear medicine based on radioactive technologies. It requires 19.75 percent enrichment. We are prepared to purchase this material,” the president explained.

“Our level of enrichment is currently at 3.5 percent – within a range of 3 to 5 percent. The materials go to nuclear power plants. They are useless for a bomb. A bomb needs enriched uranium to the grade of 99.7 percent. We believe that the possession of nuclear bombs is immoral,” said Ahmadinejad.

Kouchner went on to state that Russia is also positive regarding the issue ‘but we are in no way at a conclusion.’

Kouchner expressed hope that talks between Iran and the six major powers over the Iranian nuclear issue will bear fruit.

“We have not decided in advance to adopt sanctions,” Kouchner said, adding “Perhaps the discussions in Geneva will allow us to unblock (the situation)”.

The representatives from Iran and the six world nuclear powers ended their talks in Geneva on Thursday and agreed to meet again before the end of October.