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US insists on discussing nuclear issue with Iran

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-16 09:21

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that Iran's nuclear issue "cannot be ignored" during the coming talks between six major powers and Iran, saying Tehran must address the issue "head-on" in any talks.

"I think it is important to underscore that we have made clear to the Iranians that any talks we participate in must address the nuclear issue head on. It cannot be ignored," the secretary told reporters after meeting Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez in Washington.

The talks between Iran and the six major powers, namely the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany, is expected be held on October 1 in Turkey, according to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

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The six powers last week accepted an offer from Tehran to hold wide-ranging talks. The Obama administration expects the talks would focus on Iran's nuclear issue, but Tehran insists that they would talk only about "international cooperation and resolving global economic and security problems."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday said that processing peaceful nuclear technology is Iran's "legal and definitive right, and it will not hold discussions about its undeniable rights."