"We discussed every bilateral affair," said Mohammad Ali Abtahi, chief of staff for President Mohammad Khatami, in a talk with reporters after the meeting with the Iraqi vice president, Taha Yassin Ramadan, who diplomats said requested the meeting.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's visit to Washington this week came at a pivotal juncture of bilateral and international affairs.
"I won't hide the fact that we have a lot of questions, taking into account the extremely ambiguous and sometimes contradictory ideas which have been expressed in Washington across the whole spectrum of bilateral and multilateral affairs," Lavrov said.
At the bilateral talks, foreign-affairs and defence officials chiefly discussed Japan's military policy in particular, the first revamp in two decades of joint-defence guidelines between America and Japan.
"It's difficult to stop it, but we are trying to find the measures to decrease the number," said Hamid al-Bayati, the deputy foreign minister for political affairs and bilateral relations.
Unlike his predecessor, Obama recognizes healing and dialogue are not one-way affairs but bilateral processes requiring willing participants on both sides.
Suspending the operations of a bilateral group on cyber-affairs is a reasonable start, but more countermeasures should be prepared in case Washington obstinately sticks to the wrong track".
Majid Takht-Ravanchi, deputy foreign minister for European and American affairs, said the restoration of bilateral ties, broken off after the attack, was under active discussion.
I held detailed and constructive discussions with the Iranian ministry of foreign affairs about taking forward our bilateral relationship on a step by step and reciprocal basis.
