French former prime minister confers with Mottaki

Tehran, Nov 20, IRNA French former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, who is in Tehran
to attend Asian mayors meeting, conferred with Foreign Minister
Manouchehr Mottaki.

In the meeting, Mottaki said, "Iran has always welcomed the
opportunity of talks with France" adding, "in the last 3 years we had
numerous meetings with French officials because of our special respect
for France and its position."
He continued, "Progress in talks depends on 3 principles of common
logic, avoiding dual standards and classification of topics." Mottaki
called for a realistic analysis of world developments by France and
practical steps for advancing current issues.

Dominique de Villepin, for his part, called Iran a big country with an
old history and by expressing his country's respect for Iran said
Islamic Republic of Iran can play an important role in the
international and regional developments.


End