Iraq pressing for Rice talks with Iran
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) - Baghdad is pressing for talks between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Iranian counterpart on Friday when an international conference seeks ways to end the Iraq conflict, diplomats said.
But the diplomats, who declined to be named, said Iran was holding out against substantial contacts with Rice, although she and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki exchanged what U.S. officials described as pleasantries over lunch on Thursday.
Rice's encounter with Mottaki and talks with Syria's foreign minister later on Thursday marked a shift in U.S. President George W. Bush's once resolute opposition to high-level contacts with Iran and Syria as he seeks ways to end the Iraq conflict.
Baghdad's interest in seeing a Rice-Mottaki meeting is clear as it is widely acknowledged Shi'ite Muslim Iran is an influential force on Iraq, both as a neighbour and because of its links with elements in the Shi'ite-led Iraqi government.
The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, did not rule out a meeting between Rice and Mottaki.
"We are just going to take it as it goes. We will see ... what options present themselves," Crocker told reporters.
"The point from our side is not to have meetings with the Iranians. It is what can we do in Iraq and what can we do in the region to create better circumstances and a better future for the Iraqis," said Crocker.
Talks between Rice and Mottaki would be one of the highest-level U.S.-Iran contacts since a 1979 revolution turned Iran from a close U.S. ally into the arch-foe Islamic Republic. Over the years Iran has been the less enthusiastic on dialogue. Continued...
Indian models dare to bare