Obama countered by saying that such talks would be undertaken with "preparations, " not preconditions.
No country that has begun such talks has ever failed to be offered membership.
Recently his foreign minister offered such talks but left the question of laying down arms unanswered.
One of her colleagues, a social worker, had such talks with her father for years.
What is the deal -- if there are such talks, what is the deal that you would accept?
Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, has worked frenetically to broker such talks in several countries, with some success.
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The woman's sister, who hadn't conducted such talks with their father, struggled with "unresolved issues" over his death, Ms. Fleming-Caruso says.
Some Pakistani analysts have held up Mr. Rehman as a relative moderate who could have been a suitable interlocutor for such talks.
Still, some in the Central African Republic questioned the utility of such talks, if they occur as rebels continue to wage attacks.
In a notable indicator that transition talks on Syria might be gaining wide support, Iran and Jordan have issued a joint statement endorsing such talks.
They say they were frozen out of such talks for years by the EU, and only in the past year have they been offered a seat.
Assuming Mr Abbas does achieve a truce that lasts long enough for peace negotiations to get started, it is far from clear that such talks will lead anywhere.
Following their meeting the pair announced that the US and Russia are to reopen negotiations on reducing their nuclear weapons stockpiles - the first such talks for more than a decade.
Prof Yin Gang, an expert on Middle Eastern affairs at the same institute, says Beijing is "very unlikely" to help break the deadlock in the peace talks or host such talks in China, South China Morning Post reports.
The Palestinian leader emerged from Saturday's meeting saying he hoped it would lead the way back to substantive peace negotiations, and he told CNN that he is personally ready to begin such talks immediately with the Israelis, in any format.
Addressing his party's annual conference on Saturday, Ulster Unionist leader Northern Ireland and former first minister David Trimble said such talks would have no impact on whether the IRA would disband, a key requirement for his party's return to the power-sharing administration with Sinn Fein.
At the heart of the anxiety expressed by German politicians is a fear that British renegotiation could eat up a lot of time at EU meetings at a moment when voters would prefer a focus on economic recovery and that even if ultimately successful, such talks could set a grim portent for Europe more widely.
We expect those proximity talks to lead to direct talks, and I believe that the government of Israel is prepared to engage in such direct talks, and I commend the Prime Minister for that.
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After the election, Mr. Sharif described such peace talks as "the best available option" and said he opposed the American drone strikes.
He needs to take concrete steps, such as opening talks, boosting contacts and suspending his campaign for a United Nations seat.
And from book trailers to Twitter accounts to potentially viral videos, such as TED Talks, writers have, in fact, been using the Internet in more innovative ways.
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But do not expect a definite outcome from all these formal talks, such as a declaration or a signed resolution.
Some countries, but not America, are also keen to tackle other subjects that eluded agreement in earlier talks, such as shipping.
It could also make it harder to dole out interim benefits that go with membership talks, such as aid for new roads or help with agricultural reform.
Most of these will be minor and incremental, such as reviving the talks on immigration that used to be held regularly but were suspended by the Bush administration.
When he talks with such uneasy restlessness, you want to put your arm round him and tell him not to worry, to assure him that no-one will doubt his integrity.
After ducking the question several times, Mr Lay eventually talks about such miscues as the firm's botched entry into the Californian retail market for electricity and a costly blunder involving North Sea gas some years ago.
In recent days, the theory has been at the fore, with rumors swirling that BP is in talks with such funds to raise cash to cover the costs of cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
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The Labwani verdict comes a week after a ground-breaking meeting between Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at a summit in Egypt - the first time the two countries held such high-level talks since the death of Mr Hariri in 2005.
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