Obama Rejects Isolated Dialogue with Iran

Obama Rejects Isolated Dialogue with Iran
US President Barack Obama on Friday underlined his commitment to engage Iran, but meantime said such an engagement should take place alongside other considerations, including US-Russia nuclear arms cut.
"I've said publicly that I'm committed to engaging in serious dialogue and negotiations with Iran. That can't be done in isolation, it has to be done in conjunction with the P5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) or the E3+3 process," Obama said in a joint press briefing with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Obama further said he would raise the specter of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East when he begins negotiations with Iranian government officials.

Meantime, Obama drew a veiled parallel between Tehran's uranium enrichment and the nuclear stockpiles of Washington and Moscow, saying that he has plans to visit Moscow and rally support for a joint effort to reduce the nuclear stockpiles in Russia and the US.

"Our concern is not just Iran, but a broader effort to strengthen nonproliferation so that the threat of nuclear weapons is greatly reduced in our lifetime," said the US president.

Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, while they have never presented any corroborative document to substantiate their allegations. Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

Tehran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry.

Meantime, Analysts say Russia and the US have an estimated number of around 6,000 warheads that are either deployed or in reserve. Moscow and Washington have reportedly agreed to reduce their stockpiles to about 1,500 warheads apiece, down from the 2,200 allowed under an interim 2002 treaty.

Obama has tabled a motion that seeks a future strategic arms control treaty with Russia that will see an 80 percent reduction in the US nuclear stockpile.