Baghdad (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The United States and Iran will meet in less than two weeks time, on May 28th, to discuss Iraqi stability. Iran’s Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki made the announcement which was confirmed by the US State Department . The encounter will take place in the Iraqi capital and will be on a diplomatic level between ambassadors, the first since 1979.
Both sides accompanied news of the talks with solemn reaffirmations of principal. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, on Wednesday dashed any expectations that the meeting would produce a breakthrough, saying its “policy of not negotiating with the US was unchanged”. Indeed ambassador Mottaki affirmed that “negotiation is limited to Iraq, in Iraq, and will start in the presence of Iraqi officials,” adding that a vital step to greater stability is the withdrawal of all foreign troops.
The response from the State Department, Sean McCormack, spokesperson was equally stony: “Iran has long spoken about there interests in seeing a stable, secure and prosperous Iraq; now we’re asking them to put their words into action”.
For his part Iraqi Foreign Minister, Hoshiyar Zebari, has welcomed the announced meeting, stating that the US and Iran are the nations with the greatest role to play in his country.
