US President George W. Bush yesterday gave public support for a Russian plan to end the Iran nuclear dispute. Bush told a news conference he would support a civilian nuclear energy program in Iran if all the nuclear fuel was manufactured in Russia and the Russian authorities collected all the waste that could be used for nuclear weapons.Earlier in the day, China and Iran expressed support for the Russian proposal, and both said they opposed the threat of sanctions from the UN Security Council. Top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, on a one-day trip to Beijing seeking China’s support, said the Russian proposal — that uranium be enriched on Russian soil — needed further discussion. “The Russian suggestion is a useful one, but needs to be discussed further,” Ali Larijani told a news conference in Beijing. He told Reuters later that Iran was willing to show flexibility on the issue, but rejected the “language of force,” an apparent reference to the threat of sanctions.