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| Obama urges Iran to end dispute | |
| (1 day later) | |
| White House hopeful Barack Obama has said Iran should not wait for the next US president to be elected before resolving its dispute with the West. | |
| He was speaking during a joint press conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris, on his world tour ahead of November's US elections. | |
| Mr Sarkozy said there was a "tremendous convergence" of views in their meeting. | |
| Afterwards Mr Obama flew to London where he is due to meet senior British politicians on Saturday. | |
| Prime Minister Gordon Brown, opposition Conservative leader David Cameron and the former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, are all due to see him. | |
| In Paris, the Illinois senator said Tehran should promptly accept an international call to freeze its "illicit nuclear programme". | |
| Iran, he said, should not wait for the election of a new US president before accepting the proposals made by Mr Sarkozy and other Western leaders "because the pressure, I think, is only going to build". | |
| Iran insists its nuclear campaign is peaceful. | |
| Praise from Sarkozy | Praise from Sarkozy |
| As well as Iran's nuclear programme, the two men discussed peace between Israel and the Palestinians, the improving security situation in Iraq and the positive role of French troops in Afghanistan. | |
| Barack Obama says the world must send a clear message to Iran | |
| The Democratic candidate thanked Mr Sarkozy for his long-standing commitment to strengthening the bilateral relationship between France and the US. | |
| "People in France and people in Europe should not underestimate how much interest there is in America in seeing the transatlantic relationship improving," said Mr Obama. | |
| He was speaking after meeting the French president at the Elysee Palace. | |
| French reporters have contrasted Mr Obama's hours-long stop-over in Paris to the long day he spent in Berlin on Thursday, where he met German leaders before making a speech in the central Tiergarten Park, a venue for big public festivities. | |
| As in Germany, the presidential contender enjoys high public ratings in France. | As in Germany, the presidential contender enjoys high public ratings in France. |
| Premature victory lap? | |
| US Republican presidential hopeful John McCain met Mr Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace in March. | US Republican presidential hopeful John McCain met Mr Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace in March. |
| Unlike my diplomatic advisers, I never believed in Hillary Clinton's chances Nicolas SarkozyFrench President Mardell blog: Obama woos Europe | |
| A spokesman for the Arizona senator has accused Mr Obama of turning his tour into a "premature victory lap". | A spokesman for the Arizona senator has accused Mr Obama of turning his tour into a "premature victory lap". |
| Earlier, Mr Sarkozy said he had always believed his "friend" Mr Obama would clinch the Democratic presidential nomination. | Earlier, Mr Sarkozy said he had always believed his "friend" Mr Obama would clinch the Democratic presidential nomination. |
| "Unlike my diplomatic advisers, I never believed in Hillary Clinton's chances," he told the French newspaper Le Figaro. | "Unlike my diplomatic advisers, I never believed in Hillary Clinton's chances," he told the French newspaper Le Figaro. |
| "He's my friend. I'm the only one in France who knows him." | "He's my friend. I'm the only one in France who knows him." |
| The French leader said he had "a very good memory" of their first encounter at the US Congress in 2006. | The French leader said he had "a very good memory" of their first encounter at the US Congress in 2006. |
| Global challenges | Global challenges |
| In his speech in Berlin, Mr Obama said the US and Europe had "drifted apart and forgotten [their] shared destiny". | In his speech in Berlin, Mr Obama said the US and Europe had "drifted apart and forgotten [their] shared destiny". |
| He warned that neither could afford to be isolated in the face of challenges such as terrorism and global warming. | He warned that neither could afford to be isolated in the face of challenges such as terrorism and global warming. |
| "While the 20th Century taught us that we share a common destiny, the 21st has revealed a world more intertwined than at any time in human history," Mr Obama said. | "While the 20th Century taught us that we share a common destiny, the 21st has revealed a world more intertwined than at any time in human history," Mr Obama said. |
| "In Europe, the view that America is part of what has gone wrong in our world, rather than a force to help make it right, has become all too common. | "In Europe, the view that America is part of what has gone wrong in our world, rather than a force to help make it right, has become all too common. |
| "In America, there are voices that deride and deny the importance of Europe's role in our security and our future," he added. | "In America, there are voices that deride and deny the importance of Europe's role in our security and our future," he added. |
| "But the burdens of global citizenship continue to bind us together." | "But the burdens of global citizenship continue to bind us together." |
| Mr Obama said partnership and co-operation among nations was "not a choice", but "the only way to protect our common security and advance our common humanity". | Mr Obama said partnership and co-operation among nations was "not a choice", but "the only way to protect our common security and advance our common humanity". |