国际英语新闻：Biden says U.S. willing to talk to Iran conditionally

MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said Saturday that the United States is willing to talk to Iran conditionally, and would try to avoid the last resort to war with the Gulf country.

    "Our government is reviewing our policies to Iran. We will be willing to talk to Iran and offer various choices," but would act to isolate and pressure Iran if it continues its "current course" and does not scrap its nuclear ambitions and support for terrorism, Biden said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference.

U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden gives a speech at the 45th Conference on Security Policy in Munich February 7, 2009.

Biden, who is on his first trip abroad since taking office, also promised that Washington would try to "act preventively, and not preemptively" to avoid the choice between the last resort to risks of war and the dangers of inaction.

    In his much anticipated speech, Biden delivered to the world the new U.S. administration's foreign and security policy.

U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden appears on a large screen as he gives a speech during the 45th Conference on Security Policy in Munich February 7, 2009.

 "We need to set a new tone in relations with countries around the world," said Biden.

    The three-day conference, which opened Friday, focused on major global and regional security issues with participation of a dozen world leaders and officials from over 50 countries.