U.S., Iran trade barbed words at Baghdad talks

By Mariam Karouny

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. and Iranian envoys spoke to each other directly at a regional meeting in Baghdad on Saturday but their exchanges dealt only with problems in Iraq and not with nuclear diplomacy.

Iraq's foreign minister said the U.S. and Iranian delegates had a "lively exchange" while the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, called their interactions "frank and sometimes even jovial." All sides said talks were constructive and focused on Iraq.

The top Iranian official at the talks said he had no one-to-one talks with U.S. officials. He called for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq and rejected charges of interference in the country.

"There were no one-to-one meetings, everything was in the framework of the meeting," said Abbas Araghchi, deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs.

Khalilzad told reporters in a conference call that he shook hands and exchanged pleasantries with members of the Iranian delegation before Iraq's prime minister opened the meeting and then dealt with them in the context of group meetings.

"It was businesslike, constructive," he said of discussions with the Iranians, adding, "I think one has to be cautious of exaggerating the impact of what has happened."

Khalilzad said he expressed strong U.S. concerns about Iranian "interference" in Iraq, support for militias and the issue of weapons and fighters coming across the border. Similar discussions were held with the Syrian delegation, he added.

Asked whether there were any plans for direct, bilateral talks any time soon with the Iranians or the Syrians, Khalilzad replied: "This is something that I do not have anything to say about at this time."

Washington, which has no diplomatic relations with Iran, has had contacts with Iranian officials in group settings, including as recently as September, but has resisted bilateral talks.

Iraq called the meeting to enlist the support of its neighbors to help end the bloodshed, but it was closely watched as a rare moment for U.S. and Iranian officials to sit down together at a time of growing tension over Iran's nuclear aims.

Washington has led international calls for tougher sanctions on Iran over its refusal to stop enriching uranium, which could be used for nuclear weapons, and it has accused Iran of backing Shi'ite militias in southern Iraq.

NO NUCLEAR TALK

Tehran says its nuclear program is limited to peaceful power generation and denies backing the militias.

"There is no reason why we should interfere in Iraqi politics other than supporting peace and stability in Iraq," Araghchi said. He said he had demanded the release of six Iranians he said were "abducted" in Iraq by U.S. forces.

U.S. soldiers seized five men Tehran says are diplomats in a raid on an Iranian government office in the northern Iraqi city of Arbil on January 11, in the second such incident in a month.