President Bush has dismissed a surprise letter from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a rambling 18-page document that was little more than a philosophical treatise, as world powers struggled to deal with Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was equally unimpressed.
"There is nothing in this letter that in any way addresses any of the issues really that are on the table in the international community," Rice told the editorial board of the Associated Press, according to a State Department transcript. "It is most assuredly not a proposal," she said. "There is nothing in here that would suggest that we're on any different course than we were before we got the letter."
The letter, written in English, is filled with religious references and revisits many of the grievances Tehran has against Washington. Ahmadinejad proposed a return to religious principles as a means of restoring confidence.
"That is, a genuine return to the teachings of prophets, to monotheism and justice, to preserve human dignity and obedience to the Almighty and His prophets?" read the letter. It also said people of the world "have no faith in international organizations, because their rights are not advocated by these organizations."
Tehran announced the letter before talks late Monday in New York of foreign ministers of the P-5 +1 and the EU to try to map out a strategy to force Iran to halt their nuclear program. The P-5 failed to reach a consensus on a possible Chapter VII resolution, a U.S. official said early Tuesday. German FM Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he believed it would take up to two weeks to reach agreement.
Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, meanwhile, praised Russia and China for taking a "realistic" approach. Moscow and Beijing, which have close economic ties with Iran, have not supported a proposed draft resolution.
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