US-Iran Talks on Iraq
News Agencies have reported that the United States accused Iran of stepping up its alleged support of militia groups fighting in Iraq, in the ' second round of rare face-to-face talks in Baghdad. The US ambassador to Iraq said that Iran, despite professing support for the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, has deepened its support for Shia militias in the two months since the delegations last met. The talks began at the office of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who began the meeting with a brief speech, according to an official at the Iraqi premier's office."We hope to see your support in stabilizing Iraq. We do not want to see Iraq interfering in the affairs of others, nor do we want anyone to interfere in its internal affairs," Maliki said, according to a statement from his office. The US was represented by Crocker, while Tehran's envoy Hassan Kazemi Qomi headed the Iranian delegation in the talks attended by a delegation of Iraqi officials led by Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. As at May's meeting, officials said the talks had only dealt with the security situation in Iraq, leaving aside a roster of other disputes between the United States and the Islamic republic. . US forces also accuse Iran of arming and training Iraqi militias, allegations Iranian officials have also denied, and which a government spokesman again rejected on Tuesday. "These accusations are without basis and do not help the atmosphere of the negotiations," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Mohammed Ali Hosseini told journalists in Tehran before the meeting. "These declarations aim to deceive public opinion which is troubled by the United States' warlike policy," Hosseini said, adding that the "Americans would be better off finding ways to get out of the Iraqi crisis." We hope something good comes out of this meeting. The US should not accuse Iran publicly as they have done , this is not the way to solve problems. Iraq situation has indeed worsened over time because of US invasion. The US still talks of three thousand deaths in New York but forgets to mention hundreds of thousands dead in Iraq due the invasion and before that US led sanctions. US Should find out a way to get out of Iraq as soon as possible, otherwise trail of deaths and destruction will continue.
