WASHINGTON, July 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday that Iran should respond by July 15 to a package offer presented to it by the U.S., Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany.

    "It simply makes sense for the world to have some kind of indication of whether Iran intends to pursue the negotiated track or not," Rice said at a joint press conference with Turkey's foreign minister Abdullah Gul.

    "But if, indeed, Iran is trying to stall, it's not going to work. The international community has said that we need to get an answer, an indication of where Iran is going with this. We need to know if the path of negotiation is open or not," Rice said.

    Leaders of the Group of Eight major industrial countries are expected to begin the annual meeting in Russia's Saint Petersburg on July 15.

    The United States has repeatedly urged Iran to respond to the offer designated to try to solve Iran's thorny nuclear issue in weeks rather than months, and threatened that it will seek United Nations Security Council sanctions if Iran does not show cooperation.

    Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said Iran will make a response to the offer on Aug. 22 and the United States has dismissed this as too late. Enditem