Iran says ready to hold talks with U.S. under suitable conditions
www.chinaview.cn 2007-01-16 01:47:40

    TEHRAN, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Iran has voiced its readiness to hold talks with the United States under "fair and suitable" conditions, the official IRNA news agency reported on Monday.

    "We have no problems in holding negotiations," Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham told a weekly press briefing while commenting on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent remarks that Tehran was ready to hold talks with Washington under "fair and suitable" conditions.

    "We are ready to help resolve global issues, restore peace in the Middle East and help Iraqi nation get rid of U.S. tyranny," Elham said, adding that Washington "needs to hold talks with Iran."

    In Sunday's interview with Al-Arabiya television, one of the main Arab satellite channels, Ahmadinejad said that Tehran is not against talks with the United States if just and proper conditions are provided.

    According to IRNA's report, Ahmadinejad, who is currently on a tour to the Latin America, also said that the United States is "fully mistaken" to think that it will be able to ignore or jeopardize rights of the Iraqi people through talks with Iran, Syria or Saudi Arabia.

    Instead, Iran, Saudi Arabia and other neighbors of Iraq can help the Iraqi people to manage their own affairs and to strengthen security and state sovereignty, Ahmadinejad said.

    U.S. President George W. Bush, when announcing his new Iraqi strategy last week, refused to seek help from Iran and Syria in restoring Iraq's security, and instead accused both countries of "allowing terrorists and insurgents to use their territories to move in and out of Iraq."

    The United States has also accused Iran of trying to produce nuclear weapons under a civilian cover, a charge denied by Tehran, and sought to impose increasing sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Editor: Luan Shanglin
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