U.S., France agree on need to hand over Mali operation to UN mission

Visiting U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Monday said France and the United States agreed on the need to hand over Mali military operations to a United Nations mission when it is "prudent." "We agreed on the need to as quickly as reasonably possible establish the African-led international mission in Mali and as quickly as is prudent transition that mission to the United Nations," he said after talks with French President Francois Hollande on issues concerning Mali, Syria and Iran. Biden hailed Hollande's "decisiveness" in Mali and commended France's leading role in the fight against terrorism at a press conference. "We support the political process led by France in order to restore a democratic governance in Mali," Biden said. He stressed the importance of working with "our regional partners to counter terrorism cross North African and beyond." President Hollande expressed his gratitude for U.S. political and logistic support to Mali operation. "I appreciated the support of the decision that I took which is the intervention of France on behalf of the international community in Mali," Hollande said. Hollande and Biden also discussed Iran's controversial nuclear program. "We regret that Iran is still refusing to be transparent and to respond to its international obligations. So we will raise up the pressure so that negotiations can lead to a solution," Hollande said. On his part, Biden reiterated U.S. offer for bilateral talks with Iran on its disputed nuclear program. Iran and the West are locked in a bitter dispute over the former's nuclear ambitions. The West accuses Tehran of developing nuclear weapon under the cover of peaceful nuclear program, a charge Iran has consistently denied. The two also held talks on ways to press for resumption of talks to end the deadlocked Middle East peace process. The U.S. vice president arrived in Paris on Sunday after attending the Munich Security Conference in southern Germany and will head for London for talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron.