Obama asks Rouhani on a date, told it is 'too complicated' at this stage
4 replies, posted
[t]http://imgkk.com/i/6w0u.jpg[/t] [t]http://imgkk.com/i/p56q.jpg[/t]
[url]http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/25/world/middleeast/obama-and-iranian-leader-miss-each-other-diplomatically.html?_r=0[/url]
[quote]It was the handshake that never happened.
While American officials say the near miss between President Obama and President Hassan Rouhani of Iran at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday means little to the ultimate fate of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, it does illustrate the acute political sensitivities that will affect both leaders as they try to embark on a diplomatic path.
After two days of discussions between American and Iranian officials about a potential meeting of the leaders, a senior administration official said the Iranian delegation indicated that it would be “too complicated” for Mr. Rouhani and Mr. Obama to bump into each other.
“We did not intend to have a formal bilateral meeting and negotiation of any kind,” said a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations. “For them, it was just too difficult for them to move forward with that type of encounter at the presidential level, at this juncture.”[/quote]
probably because in reality the president of iran is just a puppet, it would look in his country like he was trying to usurp the religious leaders who are the true rulers of iran