Iraqi president backs US-Iran talks on Iraq

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – President Jalal Talabani supports a
call by a Shi’ite leader for Iran and the United States to hold
talks to resolve their differences over Iraq and ways of
stabilizing it, his office said on Sunday.

The Iraqi president said the issue of talks was raised on a
visit he made to Tehran a few months ago, a statement from his
office said, summarizing talks he held on Saturday with British
Defense Secretary John Reid.

“We received primary approval from Iran when I visited a
few months ago,” the statement quoted Talabani as saying.

“We confirmed at that time the necessity of opening such a
dialogue and the Iranian side accepted on two conditions. The
first was the talks would be secret and the second was that all
disputes between Iran and the United States would be
discussed.”

Iraqi Shi’ite leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim urged Iran last
week to hold talks with the United States over Iraq.