国际英语新闻：U.S. to join direct nuclear talks with Iran

WASHINGTON, April 8 (Xinhua) -- The Obama administration said Wednesday that it will take part in the proposed talks with Iran with other five powers, in an attempt to find a political solution to Iran's nuclear program.

    "On the nuclear issue, the United States remains committed to the P5-plus-1 process. What is different is that the U.S. will join P-5-plus-1 discussions with Iran from now on," State Department acting spokesman Robert Wood told reporters.

    "A diplomatic solution necessitates a willingness to engage directly with each other on the basis of mutual respect and mutual interests, and we hope that the government of Iran chooses to reciprocate," said the spokesman.

    The United States and other major powers, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, have invited Iran to join the direct talks, according to Wood.

    "If Iran accepts, we hope this will be the occasion to seriously engage Iran on how to break the logjam of recent years and work in a cooperative manner to resolve the outstanding international concerns about its nuclear program," said Wood.

    "Any breakthrough will be the result of the collective efforts of all the parties, including Iran," added the spokesman.

    The remark was viewed as a shift of the Obama administration's Iran policy. The Bush administration had refused to take part in talks involving Iran on its nuclear issue, saying that Tehran had to first stop the uranium enrichment program.

    The United States and its European allies claim that Iran intends to secretly develop nuclear weapons, while the UN Security Council also requires Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activity.

    However, Iran insists that its nuclear plan is only for peaceful purposes, and continues its uranium enrichment activity despite the pressure from the western countries and relevant resolutions and sanctions of the United Nations.