FOREIGN MINISTER: WE WILL RESPOND TO AMERICA’S HONEST REQUEST

E’temad
March 16 2009
Iran

The ancient festival of Nowruz will bring the three Persian-speaking
countries that are members of ECO [Economic Cooperation Organization]
together in Afghanistan, so that once again the Nowruz tradition
may be revived in the meeting between the foreign ministers of Iran,
Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Alongside this Nowruz tour, Tehran has
also announced that if there is a sincere request from Washington to
improve relations between the two countries, Iran will respond.

On this basis, Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki said that the foreign
ministers of the three Persian-speaking countries – Iran, Tajikistan
and Afghanistan, three countries interested in the culture of Nowruz –
launched a new initiative in Tajikistan last year. He added that they
will continue that tradition this year in Afghanistan and will revive
the memory of Nowruz customs and traditions.

Although the Nowruz festival is an occasion for the three neighbouring
countries to get together, the issues of Afghanistan, terrorism and
energy will also be among the important issues to be discussed in
that gathering.

Of course, earlier, Afghanistan expressed its willingness to host this
tripartite meeting as well. The meeting will be held in Mazar-e Sharif
on 1 Farvardin 88 [21 March 2009] and preparations will be made for a
meeting between the presidents of Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. The
time of the meeting will be agreed upon. This decision was based on the
agreements that were reached in a joint meeting between [Hamid] Karzai,
[Mahmud] Ahmadinezhad and Emomali Rahmon in the city of Dushanbe in
Tajikistan. The third meeting of the leaders of the three countries
will be held in Tehran.

Iran’s condition to respond to America

Simultaneously with these developments, Manuchehr Mottaki, the
official in charge of the country’s diplomacy, started a tour of
several Central Asian countries at the end of last week from Yerevan,
the capital of Armenia. He told correspondents that if Washington
takes a sincere action to improve relations between the two countries,
Iran will respond.

According to ISNA [Iranian Students’ News Agency], Mottaki stressed:
"If the government of Barack Obama, the American president, acts
according to its promises, Iran will give the appropriate response to
those actions." In a joint press conference with Eduard Nalbandyan,
the Armenian foreign minister, Mottaki said: "The congressional and
presidential American elections showed that the American nation has
said ‘no’ to the policies of the former government and has said ‘yes’
to new policies."

In his meeting with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Mottaki said:
"Iran intends to connect the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea." He added:
"Our ultimate goal is to connect the Persian Gulf to the Black
Sea. In order to achieve that goal, we have to build the necessary
infrastructure with some major projects. With regard to this,
connectivity between the two countries, especially the construction
of a railway between the two countries, is among the important goals
of Armenia."

During the Friday meeting [13 March], Mottaki said: "We had some good
consultation with our Armenian counterparts regarding the next visit of
the Armenian president [presumably to Iran]. We hope that by signing
new agreements, we can take some effective steps in connection with
new capacities [for development between the two countries]."

Also in his meeting with the minister of foreign affairs, the Armenian
national parliamentary speaker, Abrahamyan, said: "The new Middle
East is no longer prepared to take orders and accept unilateral
policies. On the contrary, this region is now pursuing its own
determination and democracy based on national will." Mottaki pointed
out: "The parliaments of the two countries, as representatives of the
people, with the backing of their government officials, will activate
various areas of their relationships, especially in the fields of
communication, energy, refineries, banking services and commerce."

Transit, energy and terrorism, issues of interest to the three
countries

At the same time, during his visit to Uzbekistan on Saturday [14
March], speaking about the meeting of the [foreign] ministers in
Mazar-e Sharif, the minister of foreign affairs referred to the main
subject of discussion in that meeting. He said: "Transit, energy
and terrorism are issues of common interest to all countries in the
region. Sometimes, by making use of the experiences of other countries,
some countries can improve and enhance the plans and capacities of
their own countries."

Referring to the importance of communications and railway lines
and networks for ensuring sustainable development in the region,
Mottaki said: "The sustainable development of the region requires
the strengthening of communication systems and networks, especially
railways, and connection to the Chinese railway through Uzbekistan,
Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Chabahar Port in Iran. This is one of
the projects that is of great interest to the countries of the region
and they are working on it."