U.S. President Barack Obama has spoken to his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao about the importance of "working together" on the issue of Iran's nuclear program.
During their telephone conversation on Thursday, Obama "underscored the importance of working together to ensure that Iran lives up to its international obligations," a White House statement said.
Obama has been pressing for new international sanctions against the Islamic Republic and has said he hopes to see them in place "within weeks." Western powers suspect Iran of aiming to build nuclear weapons. Tehran insists its nuclear program is of a civilian nature.
As one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, China has the power of veto over sanctions and has expressed its desire to see the issue resolved through diplomacy.
But U.S. diplomats said on Thursday that Beijing had agreed to start "serious negotiations" over sanctions.
Obama also welcomed the Chinese leader's visit to an upcoming nuclear security summit in Washington. The summit, to gather over 40 heads of state, including Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, will be held in the U.S. capital on April 12-13.
WASHINGTON, April 2 (RIA Novosti)
