U.S. President George W. Bush said Monday that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will tell her Iranian counterpart that Iran must give up their enrichment program if there is a meeting between the two.

Rice "would be polite but firm in reminding the representative of the Iranian government that there is a better way forward for the Iranian people," Bush told reporters after a summit with leaders of the European Union.

"If, in fact, there is a conversation (between Rice and Mottaki) , it will be one that says that if the Iranian government wants to have a serious conversation with the U.S. and others, they ought to give up their enrichment program in a verifiable fashion," Bush said.

"We will sit at the table with them along with our European partners and Russia. That is what she will tell them," he said.

Both Rice and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki are due to attend the conference on Iraq security scheduled to be held in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt on May 3-4.

Speaking on ABC news program on Sunday, Rice said she would not rule out meeting directly with Mottaki at the international conference. Should they meet, Rice said she would ask the Iranians to "stop the flow of arms to foreign fighters" and to "stop the flow of foreign fighters across the borders."

Iran has considerable influence among Shiite parties in Iraq, who now lead the country's government. Washington accuses Tehran of having links with Shiite insurgent groups. U.S. politicians have been urging the Bush administration to engage Tehran in talks designed to curb the violence in Iraq.

Source: Xinhua