US/Europe

Obama urges Iran to end nuclear dispute

Article published on the 2008-07-25 Latest update 2008-07-26 11:32 TU

US presidential hopeful Barack Obama has urged Iran to resolve its dispute with the West. He was speaking during a joint press conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on an international tour ahead of November's elections. The speech came afterObama addressed 200,000 people in Berlin on Thursday evening.

Obama said Tehran should accept an international call to freeze its "illicit nuclear programme" and not wait for the election of a new US president before accepting the proposals made by Sarkozy and other western leaders.

The agenda for the meeting with Sarkozy included Franco-American relations and "major international issues".

Requests from France's Socialist Party to meet with Obama were not taken up.

The Republican candidate John McCain met with Sarkozy last March and his spokesman has accused Obama of launching a "premature victory lap" after the speech to 200,000 people in Berlin on Thursday evening.