[QODLink]
Middle East
US and Iran set for Iraq talks
Iranian foreign minister says talks to be held in Iraq on May 28.
Last Modified: 17 May 2007 12:28 GMT
Zebari, left, seen here with Mottaki, has welcomed talks between the US and Iran [AFP]

Iranian and US officials will meet in Iraq on May 28 to discuss security in Iraq, the Iranian foreign minister has said.
 
"Negotiation is limited to Iraq, in Iraq, and will start in the presence of Iraqi officials," Manouchehr Mottaki announced in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, on Thursday.
The talks, being held at the request of Iraqi leaders, would be at the level of ambassador, Mottaki said.
 
The US said this week talks would soon be held with Iran on how it could take a "productive role" in Iraq's security.
The US has accused Iran of backing Shia militia groups in Iraq and seeking an atomic bomb.
 
Iran denies both accusations.
 
"Two problems"
 
Mottaki said: "We are facing two problems in Iraq, one relates to  instability caused by terrorist activities and the other by  continuation of occupation of Iraq.
 
"We believe that the correct approach to the issue is to look  into both areas of difficulties."
 
The confirmation of the date for the talks comes days after  Iranian officials said that the rare talks would be held within the next few weeks, most likely in Baghdad.
 
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.
 
He said Iran would merely use the talks with US diplomats over Iraq to remind Washington of its "occupiers' duty" in the  conflict-torn country.
 
Talks welcomed
 
Hoshiyar Zebari, the Iraqi foreign minister, has welcomed the talks, saying both the US and Iran were major players in his country.
 
Your Views

"Let the people of Iraq vote if they want the US to stay or leave"

Bob Kaye, Bohemia, US

Send us your views

US officials have often said they would meet with Iranian counterparts but that talks would have to be limited to Iraq.
 
With violence escalating in Iraq, and George Bush, the US president, under increasing domestic pressure to wrap up the four-year-old war, many experts say Tehran could play a major role in stabilising Iraq.

Recently, Bush selected a general as his "war tsar" to oversee the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
 
The White House tried for weeks to fill the position and approached several candidates who reportedly turned it down, before Lieutenant-General Douglas Lute, the defence department's director of operations, agreed to take the job.
Source:
Agencies
Topics in this article
People
Country
Featured on Al Jazeera
More and more people in the US are living in poverty - yet Mitt Romney's policies would further shred the safety net.
As the anniversary of the uprising nears, the country's rulers are denying foreigners entry and hiring PR firms.
Under Obama, six whistleblowers have been charged under the World War I-era Espionage Act.
Journalist who recently spent time with fighters says there is no central leadership to the armed resistance.
<  > 
join our mailing list

Enter Zip Code
Go