(Fars News Agency)- Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami Wednesday stressed that national interests constitute the only prerequisite for attending negotiations with the US.
Khatami stressed that negotiations should not be regarded as a taboo, adding, "The strategy of such negotiations, of course, should not be imposed on us."
Asked about President Ahmadinejad's letter to Bush, he said that he was not informed of the motives behind the measure and refrained from expressing his views.
Elaborating on a similar measure he adopted during his term, the former Iranian President mentioned the negative perception and view of the world and US public opinion about Iran as the underlying reason for his interview with CNN's Christian Amanpour in 1998, saying that he sought to change the outside look towards Iran, in which he succeeded.
"The straightforward confessions of the then US Secretary of State Madeline Albright, who admitted her country's wrong policies in the face of Iran in the past 50 years, coupled with her apology and Clinton's regret over US policies on Iran, which were followed by modified US stances towards Iran are clear indications of the success of that interview," he reiterated.