Ahmadinejad welcomes direct US talks

Teheran: Iran's hardline president said Monday he would welcome direct talks with the US if both parties are on equal footing, adding such talks could happen ‘in the near future.'

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not say whether any definite plans for such bilateral talks were under way.

‘We will hold talks with the United States if they come to us on equal footing,' Ahmadinejad said in a live speech on state TV.

Ahmadinejad also said he will attend the next UN General Assembly in New York in September in order to defend Iran's rights and propose changes to what he called the ‘unjust' Western system of administering international organizations. Ahmadinejad has attended every annual UN General Assembly meeting since he was elected in 2005.

Washington has no diplomatic ties with Iran because it regards the country as a state sponsor of terror. But recognizing its influence on Iraqi stability, officials last year opened limited discussions with Iranian officials focused only on Iraq, where the US accuses Teheran of arming Shia militias.

The US has said it will not talk with Iran about its disputed nuclear program unless Teheran agrees first to halt uranium enrichment - a process that can be used to generate electricity, or make a nuclear bomb.

‘Equal footing means that when two people want to talk, both have to be on equal terms. Dialogue doesn't make any sense if one side stands in a higher position and the other in a lower position,' Ahmadinejad said.

For years, Iran has vehemently opposed any direct talks with Washington, though it went to the limited, trilateral discussions with the US and Iraq recently.

Major world powers have offered Iran a package of incentives in exchange for a halt to uranium enrichment.

Ahmadinejad said he rejects that condition. He says Saturday's talks will focus on ‘common' points instead. Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana are scheduled to meet in Geneva on July 19.

Last month, the Bush administration had said it was considering setting up a diplomatic outpost in Iran in what would mark a dramatic US return to the country nearly 30 years after the two nations severed relations.

‘They haven't demanded it formally yet. But if they do ... we will study it with a positive view,' Ahmadinejad said on Monday.