U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker said Monday that his talks with Iranian counterpart Hassan Kazemi Qomi was "positive" and both parties agreed for a stable Iraq.

"The talks proceeded positively and what we need to see is Iranian action on the ground," Ryan Crocker told a news conference, adding that "I would characterize the atmosphere of the talks as business-like."

"There was pretty good congruence down the line, support for a secure, stable democratic and federal Iraq, in control of its own security and at peace with its neighbors," he added.

Crocker said the meeting lasted four hours and his country insisted that Iran must back a positive course and cut its alleged support for militia in Iraq.

He said he told the Iranians that they back "militia fighting both Iraqi and coalition forces, the fact that a lot of the explosives and ammunition used by these groups are coming from Iran into Iraq."

The U.S. army has frequently accused Iran of arming and training Shiite militia in Iraq, including providing materials of sophisticated armored-piercing bombs. Iran has denied the claims.

Crocker disclosed that the Iranians said they would be proposing a second session and his country "will consider when we receive it."

He said Iran also proposed setting up a "trilateral security mechanism" that would include the United States, Iraq and Iran, while his answer was that "any move on that proposal would need study in Washington."

The Iranian ambassador did not respond directly to Crocker's remarks, but he said that "in general Iran support Iraq and the government of Nuri al-Maliki."

The talks is the first for the United States and Iran since the diplomatic relations have been severed for more than two decades.

Source: Xinhua