Iran insisted there were no negotiations between its Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell at an international conference on Iraq, held in Egypt's resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.
"No negotiations took place between the minister of foreign affairs of Iran and the American seretary of state," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi, who is accompanying Kharazi in Egypt, was quoted as saying by IRNA news agency.
Powell, for his part, said he talked with Kharazi at a dinner for officials attending the Iraq conference, but engaged only in "polite conversation".
"During the opening ceremony of the conference, the two ministers were placed close to each other," Asefi said Tuesday.
"As we have said before, because of the erronneous attitude and policy of the Americans, negotiations are pointless and are not on the agenda."
A State Department official said the pair were seated next to each other at the initiative of the conference's host Egypt.
"During the course of dinner, the secretary and the Iranian foreign minister engaged in some polite dinner conversation," the official added.
Asked whether the situation in Iraq or Iran's nuclear program were raised, he said, "I do not consider the nuclear issue a polite dinner conversation. I do not consider Iraq a polite conversation."
Meanwhile, Tehran said Monday it has frozen all uranium enrichment programs. U.S. President Bush said he hoped the statement is true but "there must be verification."
Bush said Iran must "earn the trust of those of us who are worried about them developing a nuclear weapon."
"Let's say I hope it's true," Bush said at a news conference in Colombia. However, the U.S. leader added, "I think the definition of truth is the willingness of the Iranian regime to allow for verification." (Albawaba.com)
