http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2453802,00.htmlThe Times November 15, 2006
We have conditions too, say Iran and Syria
By Richard Beeston, Diplomatic Editor and Hugh Macleod in Damascus
IRAN and Syria signalled that they were ready to resume dialogue with the United States, but both regimes insisted that the situation in the region would only improve if Washington changed its policies.
Responding to overtures by Tony Blair and American mediators, President Ahmadinejad said that Tehran had always been ready to talk to America if certain conditions were met. “The conditions concern the attitude of the American Government. If they correct their behaviour, we will talk to them like others,” he said.
He did not elaborate, but in the past Iran has demanded that the United States unfreeze Iranian assets held by the US Government, withdraw forces from Iraq, drop its support for Israel and stop its efforts to halt Tehran’s nuclear programme.
The Iranian leader said that he would explain in an open letter to the American people. But any hopes of a rapprochement with the West seemed doomed. Mr Ahmadinejad repeated his determination to press ahead with uranium enrichment work, which some fear is a cover to make fissile material needed for an atomic bomb.
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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2453802,00.html