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Obama, Putin urge Iran to address international concern

Xinhua, June 19, 2012

• U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday urged Iran to take serious efforts to restore international confidence on its disputed nuclear program.

  While recognizing Iran's right to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the two leaders agreed that Iran must "undertake serious efforts aimed at restoring international confidence" on its controversial nuclear program, according to a joint statement released after their bilateral talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit held at the Mexican seaside resort of Los Cabos.

  The two presidents urged Tehran to "fully comply" with its obligations under the relevant resolutions by the UN Security Council and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog.

  "Our common goal remains a comprehensive negotiated settlement based on the principles of a step-by-step approach and reciprocity," the two said.

  The U.S.-Russian joint statement came as the latest round of talks between Iran and the six world powers started in Moscow Monday.

  The last two rounds of talks over the issue were held in Turkey's Istanbul in April and Baghdad of Iraq in May, with all sides describing the talks as positive and agreeing on further negotiations.

  The European Union, the United States and some other countries have imposed oil embargo as part of their sanctions to pressure Tehran to resume talks on the country's nuclear program.

  In a press briefng Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said that China always advocates that dialogues and negotiation are the only right and effective way to resolve Iran's nuclear problem.

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