TEHRAN - Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said here on Sunday that it is not logical to tie the idea of negotiations between Iran and the United States with suspension of uranium enrichment by Tehran.

“We have repeatedly announced our position about enrichment suspension, and on the issue of negotiations with the Americans we have also said that if an offer is made officially, we will study it, but connecting these two issues does not seem to be very logical,” Hosseini told reporters at his weekly press briefing.

“Recently, through various channels, the U.S. has made proposals for talks with Iran about Iraq and security in that country,” he said.

The upcoming Baghdad conference, which is being held to search for ways to quell the violence in Iraq, will include the United States and Iraq’s neighbors, including Iran and Syria. Asked whether Iran would hold talks with the U.S. on the sidelines of the Baghdad conference, Hosseini said, “Such a meeting is not on the agenda.”

“Our priority is to help the Iraqi government reinforce stability and security in the country,” he added. “We are in the process of examining our participation in the Baghdad conference. If it is in our interests, we will participate.”

Nuclear issue

Asked if it would be possible for Iran and the United States to hold nuclear talks in Baghdad, Hosseini said, “It is not an issue of location that we should insist on talks in Baghdad. “What we have said is that we are prepared to negotiate with all of the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) without any preconditions.”

He rejected the view that talks on Iran’s nuclear issue are at an impasse.

“We do not believe that the nuclear negotiations have reached a dead end,” he said.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman stated that certain countries’ interest in resuming talks with Iran has increased, adding that it could help efforts to resolve the issue if others joined the talks.

Pakistan conference

The foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Malaysia, and Indonesia met last week in Islamabad to seek a way to end the turmoil in the Middle East.

The way the conference was arranged raised many questions, Hosseini said, adding that the major countries involved should always be invited to such conferences.

President Mahmud Ahmadinejad told reporters before leaving Tehran for Riyadh on Saturday that Iran and regional countries have many questions about the objectives pursued in the Pakistan conference.