(15 Dec 1997) English/Nat
Iranian President Mohammad Khatami's bold call for closer ties with the United States was met with unusual silence from the ruling clerical establishment in Iran.
But in Washington on Monday, President Bill Clinton said he was encouraged by the overture, as long as Iran agrees to address issues of key concern to the U-S.
It is the strongest gesture of reconciliation with the U-S since the 1979 Islamic revolution overturned the U-S backed regime in Iran.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"It was welcomed and I will say again, I would like nothing better than to have a dialogue with Iran, as long as we can have an honest discussion of all the relevant issues. We remain concerned about their sponsorship of terrorism, about violent attacks on the peace process, about the development or acquisition of weapons of mass destruction. And we will continue to be concerned about those things. But I was quite encouraged by the president's statement and I think the American people should be."
SUPER CAPTION: Bill Clinton, U-S President
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"We would desire a dialogue that was candid, authoritative and one in which the issues that certainly would be on our agenda could be addressed in an open manner."
SUPER CAPTION: Mike McCurry, White House spokesman
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
