Ahmadinejad says Iran favors talks with the West

Jerusalem, Apr. 18 (ANI): Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that his country is in favour of a dialogue with the West over the nuclear stand-off.

He said he would soon give an official response to an offer of negotiations by the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany.

"We are leaning toward dialogue," The Jerusalem Post quoted Ahmadinejad, as telling Iran's Army Radio.

Addressing thousands of people in the southeastern Iranian city of Kerman, Ahmadinejad said, "circumstances have changed" for the prospects of engagement with the United States and over the nuclear issue."

In a related development, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted as saying that Teheran could respond positively to US overtures for a dialogue if Washington converts the new proposals into reality.

"We are studying the comments of the US government precisely and with respect. If the Obama administration turns its expressions of change into reality, there can also be change on our side," Mottaki said.

While Mottaki praised US President Barack Obama's vision of a nuclear arms-free world, he however, added that every country reserved the right to nuclear power.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana met for talks on Iran soon after Ahmadinejad indicated he was willing to build a new relationship with America. (ANI)