Kuala Lumpur: The offer by the United States to join direct nuclear talks with Iran if it agrees to suspend uranium enrichment is "a relief to the world," Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said.
"It shows a change in America's stand," Abdullah was quoted as saying by the national news agency, Bernama, late Friday. "This means force is no longer the primary option. I believe this will be a relief to the world."
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Wednesday that Washington will join other nations in talks as soon as Iran fully and verifiably suspends its uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities.
Abdullah, who is Chairman of the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference, said he hoped Iran will welcome the US statement.
Negotiation should be the approach to resolve the dispute over Iran's enrichment program, he said.
The US and several other countries allege Iran is trying to process uranium to make nuclear weapons, but Tehran says it's for peaceful purposes.
Last month, Abdullah said he told US President George Bush by telephone that Malaysia had no objections to Iran using nuclear power for peaceful means.
He said he also told Bush that a diplomatic solution was better than the use of force.
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