At a news conference on Saturday, the special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan was questioned about a possible meeting with the Iranian Foreign Minster, Manouchehr Mottaki. "No dialogue," Holbrooke told reporters. "I ran into the foreign minister as we were milling around and we said 'hello' and chatted for about a minute or two,” he added. Holbrooke has been the main figure in reports of Iranian-American encounters during international conferences and meetings. Reports indicate that on different venues, American delegations have tried to make small talk with Iranian diplomats in a bid to open doors for further negotiations on sensitive issues. Richard Holbrooke, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan under the Obama administration, is a top-ranking American diplomat, magazine editor, author, professor, and investment banker who served as Country director for Peace Corps Morocco between 1970 and 1972.
Holbrooke named again in Iran-US talks
Holbrooke named again in Iran-US talks
at, 18 Apr 2009 07:53:45 GMT
US special envoy, Richard Holbrooke says he has had a brief encounter with Iran's Foreign Minster at a Pakistan donors conference in Tokyo.
Iran and the United States were among the many countries attending a Friday conference in Tokyo, where donor countries pledged a total of $US5.28 billion to stabilize poverty-stricken Pakistan.
At a news conference on Saturday, the special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan was questioned about a possible meeting with the Iranian Foreign Minster, Manouchehr Mottaki.
"No dialogue," Holbrooke told reporters.
"I ran into the foreign minister as we were milling around and we said 'hello' and chatted for about a minute or two,” he added.
Holbrooke has been the main figure in reports of Iranian-American encounters during international conferences and meetings.
Reports indicate that on different venues, American delegations have tried to make small talk with Iranian diplomats in a bid to open doors for further negotiations on sensitive issues.
On the sidelines of the international meeting on Afghanistan, American envoys were eager to engage Iranian representatives, member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission told Press TV on condition of anonymity.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had in early April claimed that Holbrooke had a "brief but cordial" meeting with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed Mehdi Akhoundzadeh at The Hague.
Iran's delegation, however, denied any "cordial exchange" or "negotiation" between the two sides.
"As talks between Iran and the US have not been on the agenda, there has certainly been no negotiation with the American envoy," Iran's delegation to a conference said in a statement.
Akhoundzadeh also explained that Iran "does not oppose such encounters, but the conference was about assisting Afghanistan and not about settling our differences. We are not in a game of hide-and-seek; we pursue an unambiguous and transparent policy."
The deveolpments come as Washington, facing a major deadlock in Afghanistan, has sought to engage Iran in a broader regional approach to stabilize the war-hit region.
American experts have advised the Obama administration to dispatch Afghanistan-bound NATO supplies via Iran. According to the New York Times, possible supply lines in Iran are being considered for the transfer of NATO allies, which have relations with Tehran.
