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Iran seeks normalization with US, Putin says

On October 2, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told a government meeting that he refused to engage in talks with his American colleague on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly

© AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi

MOSCOW, October 2. /TASS/. The Iranian leadership intends to normalize relations with the United States, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a plenary session at the Russian Energy Week 2019 International Forum.

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Dialogue is always "better than any confrontation," Putin underlined exemplifying this statement with a "strong-willed and balanced, absolutely pragmatic and right" decision to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made by US President Donald Trump.

"The same applies to direct contacts between Iran and the US, between the Iranian and US Presidents," Putin said. "Such an attempt was made by France at the UN General Assembly in New York, as far as I know. Regrettably, this meeting was not held because Iran believes that the pressure of sanctions strips it of equal grounds for this dialogue." "But I believe that there is longing for normalization of the situation, particularly normalization of relations with the US, in Tehran," the Russian leader said.

On October 2, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told a government meeting that he refused to engage in talks with his American colleague on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly because he does not believe that such a meeting would be in best interests of Tehran. Rouhani stated, "The US President twice underlined that he wants to tighten sanctions against Iran in his UN General Assembly speech."

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