Iran seeking better relations with Washington
Diplomacy: Foreign minister shows ‘will to do business' and expects agreement on direct flights
Iran seeking better relations with Washington

By The Associated Press

Published: July 19, 2008

ANKARA, Turkey — Iran's foreign minister said Friday that he expects weekend talks with the United States to produce agreements on opening an American diplomatic outpost in Tehran and restoring direct flights between the two nations.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran backs both moves, which he said reflected a mutual "will to do business.”

The U.S. State Department spokesman has been pushing for the Bush administration to open an interest section in Tehran similar to one in Havana. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in response to Mottaki's comments that "Washington was always looking for ways to try to reach out to the Iranian people.”

But he said the "only real drama” at the talks today in Geneva between Iran and the U.S. and five other world powers would be whether Tehran would offer a positive response to a package of incentives for it to halt uranium enrichment.

"That's the issue at hand this weekend,” he added.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in Washington that the shift in policy is a signal the administration is serious about diplomacy, but does not mean Washington is ready for open-ended discussions with Iran, which can only occur after Tehran halts activities that could lead to development of atomic weapons.

In Paris, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the talks offered "hope that there can be a peaceful solution” to the standoff.

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