14 May 2007
The White House has announced that the American ambassador in Baghdad will likely with Iranian officials meet in the next several weeks to discuss ways to stabilize Iraq. A spokesman said that US ambassador Ryan Crocker would meet with Iranian counterparts in Baghdad to urge Tehran to play a “productive role in Iraq.” The confirmation came after the official Iranian news agency disclosed that the two sides had agreed to meet in Baghdad. US officials said the meeting could occur as early as next week. “The president authorized this channel because we must take every step possible to stabilize Iraq and reduce the risk to our troops even as our military continue to act against hostile Iranian-backed activity in Iraq,” the spokesman said.
However, a spokeswoman for US vice-president Dick Cheney qualified the initiative by saying that the Bush administration was only willing to talk to Iran if the discussions only dealt with Iraq and were held at the "ambassadorial level." The United States and Iran have not had formal diplomatic relations for more than 25 years. The proposed talks would be one of the few instances when the two countries have engaged in direct talks in decades.
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