Biden puts nuclear talks onus on Iran

February 02, 2013 04:05 pm | Updated December 04, 2021 11:42 pm IST - MUNICH

U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden hugs Javier Solana, former secretary-general of NATO, as he arrives for the Security Conference in Munich on Saturday.

U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden hugs Javier Solana, former secretary-general of NATO, as he arrives for the Security Conference in Munich on Saturday.

U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden says the U.S. is prepared to hold direct talks with Iran in the standoff over its nuclear ambitions but only if the leadership in Tehran “is serious.”

Washington has indicated in the past that it’s prepared to hold talk directly with Iran, and talks involving all five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany have made little headway.

Asked at an international security conference when direct talks might be possible, Mr. Biden replied on Saturday: “When the Iranian leadership, the supreme leader, is serious.”

Mr. Biden says the offer stands “but it must be real and tangible and there has to be an agenda that they’re prepared to speak to. We’re not prepared to do it just for the exercise”.

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