Iran president open to US offer of talks
In the interview, the Iranian president urged the US to live up to its promises of engaging Iran
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Monday, 13, Apr 2009 12:06
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said he is open to the US participation in talks on its nuclear programme.
In an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel news magazine, Mr Ahmadinejad also called for "fundamental changes" in United States foreign policy and for America to learn from mistakes made in the past.
Speaking to the magazine, the Iranian president said "important progress" could be made between the two countries if the US revised its approach to the region and if talks were based on "fairness and respect".
He said: "Naturally, we cannot expect to see problems that have arisen over more than half a century resolved in only a few days.
"We are neither obstinate nor gullible. We are realists. The important thing is the determination to bring about improvements. If you change the atmosphere, solutions can be found," he added
He also laid the onus for change on US president Barack Obama urging him to "follow his words with action" and to focus on "real changes".
In the interview, the Iranian president also criticised the US approach to sending more troops to Afghanistan by saying that only humanitarian measures and not military means could be used to solve the problems in the country.
"I repeat: A stronger military presence is not a solution… Americans are not familiar with the region, and the perceptions of the Nato commanders are mistaken. I am telling you this as a trained teacher: This is wrong," he stressed.
Yesterday, Iranian state television broadcast comments from the leader saying Iran had mastered the entire cycle for producing nuclear fuel and was committed to using nuclear energy to generate power.
The west fears that Iran is developing nuclear weapons capability under the guise of a civilian nuclear programme and has passed three rounds of sanctions against it over its refusal to halt the enrichment of uranium.
The US has offered to be a part of the group of countries negotiating with Iran on its nuclear programme. It had previously refused to deal directly with representatives of the country.