Posted by Iranian on May 7, 2007, 7:07 pm, in reply to "Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki is afraid of Rice and other women" --Previous Message--
209.74.96.17
You got it wrong he was afraid of secretary Lice not Rice.
: SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt - Iran's
: foreign minister boycotted a dinner
: of diplomats where he was to be
: seated directly across from
: Secretary of State
: Condoleezza Rice, ostensibly because
: a female violinist entertaining the
: gathering was dressed too
: revealingly.
:
: "I don't know which woman he
: was afraid of, the woman in the red
: dress or the secretary of
: state," State Department
: spokesman Sean McCormack said
: Friday.
:
: Rice and Iranian Foreign Minister
: Manouchehr Mottaki met earlier at a
: lunch Thursday but exchanged only
: pleasantries. Neither appeared ready
: to make the first move for a real
: meeting.
:
: "You can ask him why he didn't
: make an effort," Rice told
: reporters Friday. "I'm not
: given to chasing anyone."
:
: According to Iraq's foreign
: minister, Iranian and American
: ambassadors did meet Friday for more
: serious talks on the sidelines of
: the conference to stabilize Iraq —
: the second such encounter since
: March 10.
:
: Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar
: Zebari said the ambassadors' meeting
: was "positive" and said
: the two rival nations, both allies
: of the Baghdad government, should
: ease their disputes, which the
: Iraqis argue are only fueling their
: country's chaos.
:
: The United States accuses Iran of
: secretly trying to develop nuclear
: weapons as well as funneling money
: and weapons the Shiite militias
: responsible for much of Iraq's
: violence. Iran denies both
: accusations and in a speech Friday,
: Mottaki assailed the United States
: for the terrorism and violence he
: said resulted from its
: "occupation" of Iraq,
: saying the Americans "should
: not finger point or put the blame on
: others."
:
: Iraq and its neighbors on Friday
: issued a declaration aimed at
: rallying support for the Shiite-led
: government of Iraqi Prime Minister
: Nouri al-Maliki from long-reluctant
: Sunni Arab countries.
:
: Arab nations committed to stop
: foreign fighters from crossing their
: territory to join Iraq's insurgency.
: The Iraqis, in turn, vowed to do
: more to include Iraq's Sunni Arabs
: in the political process.
:
: But both sides remained deeply
: suspicious. "We will see the
: extent of the seriousness and
: commitment among these nations to
: what they signed today,"
: al-Maliki said.
:
: Mottaki's speech to the conference
: blamed the U.S. military presence
: for Iraq's turmoil and demanded the
: release of five Iranians detained by
: U.S. forces in Iraq in January. Iran
: claims the five are diplomats.
:
: "There should be no doubt that
: the continuation of and increase in
: terrorist acts in Iraq originates
: from the flawed approaches adopted
: by the foreign troops," Mottaki
: said. "The United States must
: accept the responsibilities arising
: from the occupation of Iraq."
:
: Mottaki stayed away from the
: diplomats' dinner Thursday night,
: where a place had been set for him
: across from Rice. Through a
: translator, Mottaki told reporters
: Friday that there were problems with
: "Islamic standards" at the
: gathering. "There was something
: wrong with that so I offered my
: apologies," Mottaki said.
: "There was no other
: reason."
:
: Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul
: Gheit told The Associated Press that
: Mottaki stayed in the hotel Thursday
: night and did not come down to the
: dinner, held in the hotel's
: beachfront restaurant. "He
: wasn't there; he was in the hotel
: the whole time."
:
: Mottaki, speaking Friday as Rice
: left Sharm el-Sheik, said there was
: no time during the conference to
: meet Rice. He said planning and
: political will on both sides was
: needed for a substantive meeting.
:
: "It should be clear what we
: trying to get from the meeting, what
: are we going to discuss," he
: said. "Such meetings should not
: be something theatrical. They should
: be substantive."
:
: He also called U.S. policies in
: Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon
: a "failure," adding,
: "These policies have to
: change."
:
: Going into the summit, the Iraqi
: government had hoped for a
: breakthrough meeting between Rice
: and Mottaki. Instead, their only
: direct contact was the wary exchange
: of pleasantries over lunch Thursday,
: punctuated by a wry, somewhat
: mysterious comment by Mottaki.
:
: The Iranian entered the lunch,
: greeting the gathered diplomats with
: the Arabic phrase, "As-salama
: aleikum," a Muslim greeting
: often used by Iran's Farsi speakers
: meaning "Peace be upon
: you," according to an Iraqi
: official who was present.
:
: Rice replied to him in English,
: "Hello," then added:
: "Your English is better than my
: Arabic," according to the Iraqi
: official, who spoke on condition of
: anonymity because the lunch was
: private.
:
: Aboul Gheit then piped in, telling
: Mottaki, "We want to warm the
: atmosphere some."
:
: Mottaki smiled and replied in
: English with a saying: "In
: Russia, they eat ice cream in winter
: because it's warmer than the
: weather" — more or less
: meaning, "You take whatever
: atmosphere-warming you can
: get."
:
: "That's true," Rice
: replied, according to the Iraqi
: official.
:
: After lunch, Egypt's Aboul Gheit
: told the AP he would try to arrange
: a further informal meeting between
: Rice and Mottaki at a gala dinner
: being thrown by the Egyptians
: Thursday night on the beach of a
: nearby resort hotel.
:
: "Why not?" Aboul Gheit
: said. "It is only one
: table." But asked if he would
: seat Rice and Mottaki next to each
: other, he said, "No, no."
:
:
:
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