Medvedev said he does not support crippling sanctions that can hurt the people of Iran, "but if nothing happens, we will have to use sanctions."

The Russian president made his remarks during a question-and-answer session after a wide-ranging and, at times, humorous speech at the Brookings Institution, a prestigious Washington think tank. The address came at the end of a two-day summit on nuclear security hosted by President Obama.

Sanctions, Medvedev said, should be ‘smart’ and ‘universal’, aimed at one result, and should be discussed with the main countries that will take part in them.

The Russian president described the nuclear summit as a ‘complete success’ and said nuclear terrorism ‘is a threat to all of us’.

CNN