Iran ready to cooperate if Obama changes U.S. policyJanuary 30, 2009 - 12:59 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran is ready to cooperate with U.S. President Barack Obama if the United States changes its policies and practices in the region, Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Thursday."We do believe that if the new administration of the United States, as Mr. Obama said, is going to change its policies, not in saying but in practice, definitely they will find the region in a cooperative approach and reaction. And Iran is not excluded from this general understanding in our region," Mottaki said at a panel before the World Economic Forum. U.S.-Iranian relations under the Bush administration were frozen. But a British newspaper reported on Thursday that the U.S. is drafting a letter to Iran to pave the way for face-to-face talks, and a State Department official said that U.S. policy toward Iran was under review. Asked about U.S. relations, Mottaki welcomed the new U.S. President's theme of change, upon which he ran his election campaign. He said the Middle East wanted to see how that manifests itself. "All the countries in the region are waiting (to see) how this change is going to introduce itself. Is it a change strategically? Is it a change in tactics?" he said, adding that Iran also has taken note of U.S. President Barack Obama's intention to withdraw troops from Iraq and believes he should pull out of Afghanistan too. Mottaki said that Obama had "courage" to say which of the policies of Bush he disagreed with and said his approach marked a move away from an era of "might equals right". "We are in a turning point. We are at a milestone now," he said, Reuters reports. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | IDBank, Dalma team up for Caucasian Deer Reintroduction Program IDBank has joined Dalma Garden Mall’s Green Challenge to support the Caucasian red deer reintroduction project. Through Ucom’s support the 12th Sunchild Festival concludes On May 24-28, with the support of Ucom, the 12th international environmental festival Sunchild took place in Yerevan. U.S., Turkey emphasize importance of Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal Jake Sullivan and Akif Cagatay Kilic have discussed the normalization process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Armenia coach expects good football in Slovenia friendly The Armenian national team has left for Ljubljana a friendly match against Slovenia on June 4. |