By DPA
Washington/Baghdad : The US has pushed Iran about its support of violent militia in Iraq but said it was "encouraged" by the positive attitude brought by the Iranians to the first substantial encounter between the two countries in 27 years.
Washington's ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, in a telephone press conference with US reporters Monday after the meeting in Baghdad, said that the Iranians could have come into the conference with a negative attitude, but instead "they came in with a positive policy declaration" about the importance of stability in Iraq.
"I was somewhat encouraged that the Iranians took the opportunity to lay out their policy in positive terms and it matched pretty close to our own," Crocker said.
Crocker and Iran's ambassador to Iraq, Hassan Kazemi Qumi, met for four hours over tea at the residence of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who mediated at the meeting in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. Crocker said the Iraqis took the lead in the discussions aimed at lowering the level of sectarian violence in the country.
Rising conflicts between Sunni and Shia militia and terrorist attacks by outside groups have shown little signs of waning despite an increased number of US troops in the country. The US charged that Iran is backing some of the insurgent and outside groups that are targeting coalition soldiers.
The US and Iran have been at loggerheads since the fall of the US-backed Shah and the US embassy hostage crisis in 1979, but had informal contacts during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, some of which became public during the Iran-Contra scandal.
During Monday's meeting, Crocker said he laid out the "fact that we have solid evidence" linking Iran to supporting armed militant groups "that are attacking our soldiers, Iraqi security forces and innocent civilians." Iran was supplying arms, ammunition and explosively formed projectiles to the groups.
"We know that (Iran's) Quds Force is the lead instrument" in supplying both Sunni insurgent groups as well as radical Shia groups in Iraq, Crocker said. "We were quite clear on how damaging we believe it is to Iraq's own efforts to establish security."
The Americans made clear that such actions by Iran were "inconsistent" with stated Iranian policy and "need to stop", Crocker said.
The Iranians had "very little comment" on the charges, but did "put forward some security items" that would hold promise as an agenda for future talks, Crocker said. He did not elaborate on the proposals, and said the US would await an invitation for another meeting, to which it would give "close consideration".
Crocker said that he was not "disappointed" in the meeting, and had not expected "instant measurable positive results", but that it would "obviously have been good to have more response from the Iranians" to the concrete charges.
Qumi, who represented Iran at the meeting, is reportedly a Quds Force officer. The Quds Force is a special unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards that have recently been accused by the US of supporting Shia death squads in Iraq.
The discussions were welcomed by al-Maliki as a result of "positive conditions".
"We want a stable Iraq, one without international forces or regional interference," al-Maliki told reporters in Baghdad, insisting that Iraq was not just a mediator of the Baghdad talks, but "the main side that guides the dialogue".
"We don't want Iraq to turn into a base of terrorist organizations that harm Iraq and its neighbours. We want a similar position from other countries, especially neighbours and regional (allies)," al-Maliki said.
The dialogue between the two parties did not sidetrack to other issues. Crocker said. Neither the Iranian nuclear programme nor the cases of seven Iranian detainees held by the US military were discussed.
Before the meeting, al-Maliki rejected any expectation by Iran that a timetable for US withdrawal would be implemented.
"The presence of the multinational forces is linked with the completeness and the readiness of the Iraqi security forces," the Iraqi premier said Monday. "Their presence is connected to the security situation and Iraq will not be (used) to threaten any of its neighbours."