President Obama was asked in his press conference last night about engaging Iran and I thought his answer was very thoughtful and respectful:
President Obama:
"I said during the campaign that Iran is a country that has extraordinary people, extraordinary history and traditions, but that its actions over many years now have been unhelpful when it comes to promoting peace and prosperity both in the region and around the world...My expectation is, in the coming months, we will be looking for openings that can be created where we can start sitting across the table face-to-face with diplomatic overtures that will allow us to move our policy in the new direction...So there are going to be a set of objectives that we have in these conversations, but I think that there's the possibility at least of a relationship of mutual respect and progress."
Speaking to a rally in Freedom square today, the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seems to welcome engagement with the U.S.
President Ahamdinejad:
"The Iranian nation is ready for talks (with the U.S.) but in a fair atmosphere with mutual respect...The new U.S. government has announced that it wants to bring changes and follow the path of dialogue. It is very clear that changes have to be fundamental and not tactical. It is clear that the Iranian nation welcomes true changes."
This a good start towards normalized relations based on mutual respect.
Words matter.
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