Iran says open to Iraq meeting if groundwork laid

DUBAI, May 6 (Reuters) Iran's foreign minister is willing to meet with his US counterpart and to cooperate with Iraq to boost stability there, providing the talks would be adequately prepared beforehand, he said in remarks aired today.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manoucheher Mottaki's comments appeared to suggest Iran was open to diplomatic contact with the United States to pave the way for talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

On Thursday in Egypt, Mottaki and Rice exchanged pleasantries at a lunch on the sidelines of a conference on efforts to stabilise Iraq but did not hold any substantive discussions.

''We do not want to negotiate for the sake of negotiation. Talks between two foreign ministers require preparations,'' Mottaki told Al Arabiya television in remarks dubbed in Arabic.

''A meeting of two foreign ministers is not ceremonial ... Work should be based on the opinions of experts, all aspects should be studied and there should be a clear agenda.'' The Iraq conference had been portrayed in US media as a chance for the first high-level talks between the two countries in three decades. US officials said nothing had been planned.

Mottaki said a well-prepared meeting would open channels for cooperation stabilising Iraq, a main concern for Washington. US officials have accused Tehran of stoking violence there, a charge Iran denies.

''If these preparations, about the issue of Iraq, were available, then we would be willing to cooperate with the Iraqi government and all sides that wish to help solve Iraq's problems,'' Mottaki said.

''The United States should show their determination to have a clear vision about the situation in Iraq ... We are looking at this matter as substance and not as a ceremonial (event).'' Talks between Rice and Mottaki would be one of the highest-level meetings between Washington and Tehran since the 1979 revolution turned Iran from a close US ally into its arch-foe Islamic Republic.

A US official said Mottaki abruptly left a dinner on Thursday where he was to sit opposite Rice, complaining that a red dress worn by an entertainer was too revealing.

US officials said they believed Mottaki had left because he did not want to sit opposite Rice and that the seating plan had caused some consternation among the Iranian delegation.

Egyptian and Iranian officials did not immediately respond to questions about the dinner or the reason for Mottaki's departure.

REUTERS AB RAI1946