“We have not made any request for negotiations with the United States,” Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki announced at a press conference in Tehran on Tuesday.
He added that Iran has repeatedly declared its stance toward U.S. foreign policy, especially with regard to the Middle East.
The United States’ inappropriate foreign policy over the past decade has entangled the U.S. in certain issues in the Middle East region which have only resulted in failure, the foreign minister noted.
Mottaki said that he believes the United States can only defuse the crises it has created in the region through an overhaul of its foreign policy and the adoption of an appropriate approach toward regional issues.
Asked about the possible time and location of the nuclear talks, he stated that Iran and the Vienna group (the U.S., Russia, and France) have agreed that International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano should be in charge of the coordination.
The talks will most probably be held in Vienna, he added.
At his weekly press briefing on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast also stated that Iran has not called for bilateral negotiations with the United States.
However, commenting on U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s remarks that the United States “remains open to engagement” with Tehran, Mehmanparast said Iran is always interested in logic and dialogue.
Earlier in the week, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs rejected a proposal from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for face-to-face talks with U.S. President Barack Obama.
HJ/HG
END
MNA