TEHRAN Iran's President Mohammad Khatami and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday started the first round of talks behind closed doors in Kremlin shortly after the arrival of President Khatami in Moscow. Khatami is the first Iranian head of state to visit Moscow in more than four decades.

Khatami arrived in Moscow Monday for a four-day landmark state visit. He was greeted at the airport by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov. A red-carpet welcome was given to the Iranian president at the Kremlin by his Russian counterpart.

Putin and Khatami signed a joint statement on Monday on the disputed status of the oil-rich Caspian Sea, agreeing to delay discussion on the subject.

"Until the legal regime of the Caspian Sea is finalized, the parties do not officially acknowledge any boundaries on this sea," AFP cited the statement.

"Any decision and agreements referring to the legal status and use of the Caspian Sea will only have force if they are approved on general consent of the five littoral states," the statement continued.

"The parties openly declare their disagreement to laying any trans-Caspian oil and natural gas pipeline on the seabed. That would be dangerous in the environmental sense in conditions of extreme geodesic activity."

Tehran is proposing an equal share-out among the five countries that border the Caspian (Russia, Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan), a view that Moscow opposes.

A five-nation summit due to have taken place in Turkmenistan on March 8 and 9 was postponed to next month at Iran's request, although officials said the meeting could be delayed further still.

Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh said Friday that Tehran was not willing to wait for an agreement over the sea's legal status before beginning its own exploration work.

An IRNA report quoted Iranian president as saying that Iran-Russia cooperation will not be against a third country or the region rather is aimed at guaranteeing stability and security at the regional and international levels.

President Khatami said at the end of his talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that both Iran and Russia need development and progress and the goal would be achieved only through security and stability.

Meanwhile, Putin said Tehran-Moscow cooperation serve as an important factor for stability and security in the region. He said Iran-Russia ties have entered a new phase and are growing.

At the end of the conference, the Iranian delegation and Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, Minister of Defense Igor Sergeyev, Minister of Atomic Energy Yevgeny Adamov, presidential advisor for Caspian Sea affairs Viktor Kalyuzhny and Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov entered talks. They are to sign an agreement on principles of mutual cooperation at the end of the talks.

Another AFP report said that Putin on Monday announced Russia will continue to sell arms to Iran, saying Tehran had the right to defend itself from external attack.

Defying U.S. criticism of a Russian decision to develop military links with Iran, Putin also accepted an invitation to visit Tehran, Interfax news agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov as saying.

A date was not specified.

"Iran does not intend to arm itself with weapons which lie outside the boundaries of international agreements, by which Russia abides, and Russia does not intend to break its obligations," Putin said, referring to weapons of mass destruction.

"Russia in interested in cooperating (with Iran) for economic reasons," said Putin. "As for politics, Iran must be a self-sufficient, independent state which can defend its national interests."

Putin also announced Russia's intention to expand cooperation on nuclear energy with Iran, which is considered a "rogue state" by Washington.

Russia has been heavily criticized by the United States for building a nuclear plant in Iranian southern city of Bushehr, which was commissioned in January 1994 and is still under construction.

Putin said he had discussed the slow pace of the plant's construction during his Kremlin talks with counterpart Mohammad Khatami.

Putin said delays in construction of the plant would be "corrected".

Khatami is also due to meet with Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov on Monday.

He is scheduled to visit Russia's second city of St. Petersburg and the Volga River region of Tatarstan, which has the large Muslim population.

Before starting their private round of talks, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday said the visit of his Iranian counterpart to Moscow has opened a new chapter in Iran-Russia relations and cooperation.

Referring to his last meeting with his Iranian counterpart on the sidelines of the UN Millennium Summit in New York, Putin said Iran-Russia underwent major development last year.

Terming the Iranian president as a well-known personality in Russia, Putin gifted him a Russian translation of the Iranian president's book titled "Khatami's Views on Civilizations".

The Iranian president, for his part, referred to growing trend in relations between the two countries and said that at the threshold of spring, Tehran-Moscow ties have entered a 'new spring'.

Expressing satisfaction with his current visit to Russia, Khatami expressed hope that the visit would be fruitful for both countries.

Khatami is accompanied by a high-ranking political, military and economic delegation, including Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani and Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh.

On his four-day visit, Khatami is lined up for talks with religious leaders Alexy II, the Russian Orthodox patriarch, and Ravil Gaynutdin, the Russian mufti (Islamic leader).