BRUSSELS: Setting up the prospect of its first face-to-face encounter with Iran, the Obama administration proposed a conference on Afghanistan later this month, which is likely to include Iran among the invited participants, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday.
"We presented the idea of what is being called a big-tent meeting, with all the parties who have a stake and an interest in Afghanistan," Clinton said at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers here.
"If we move forward with such a meeting, it is expected that Iran would be invited, as a neighbor of Afghanistan," she said in a news conference at the end of the meeting.
The Netherlands is being considered as a host for the conference, which would take place March 31 and be chaired by the United Nations. Iran did not say whether it would accept an invitation.
"We presented the idea of what is being called a big-tent meeting, with all the parties who have a stake and an interest in Afghanistan," Clinton said at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers here.
"If we move forward with such a meeting, it is expected that Iran would be invited, as a neighbor of Afghanistan," she said in a news conference at the end of the meeting.
The Netherlands is being considered as a host for the conference, which would take place March 31 and be chaired by the United Nations. Iran did not say whether it would accept an invitation.
Clinton's proposal underscores that Afghanistan may prove to be the most promising avenue for opening a channel to Iran - something President Barack Obama has made a theme of his foreign policy.
On Wednesday, Clinton noted that Iran consulted frequently with the United States in the early days of the American-led war to oust the Taliban in 2001.
Courtesy: Herald tribune...more..
Courtesy: Herald tribune...more..
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