The Iranian president says Tehran is ready to resume talks about its nuclear program with the international community.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's endorsement follows Iran's new push to get the talks started again.

The talks foundered a year ago and led to a fourth round of U.N. sanctions over Iran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment _ a program the West is concerned masks ambitions for nuclear weapons. Iran denies the charge.

Ahmadinejad told a crowd of supporters on Sunday that the West made the first step. He gave no timeframe for the talks.

"They have come and say, "We will negotiate.' We say, "All right, we will negotiate with you.'"

EU's Catherine Ashton has suggested the talks be held in Vienna in mid-November, with U.S., Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany.