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| Iran and US hold 'cordial' talks | |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| The US envoy to Afghanistan has held "a cordial exchange" with Iran's deputy foreign minister, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said. | The US envoy to Afghanistan has held "a cordial exchange" with Iran's deputy foreign minister, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said. |
| The meeting between Richard Holbrooke and Mohammad Mehdi Akhoondzadeh took place on the sidelines of a meeting in The Hague to discuss Afghanistan. | The meeting between Richard Holbrooke and Mohammad Mehdi Akhoondzadeh took place on the sidelines of a meeting in The Hague to discuss Afghanistan. |
| The US has welcomed Iran's presence at the meeting. | The US has welcomed Iran's presence at the meeting. |
| Analysts say the easing of tensions between the US and Tehran is due to the new tone set by the Obama White House. | Analysts say the easing of tensions between the US and Tehran is due to the new tone set by the Obama White House. |
| Earlier, Iran gave a guarded welcome to US plans to increase regional co-operation over Afghanistan. | Earlier, Iran gave a guarded welcome to US plans to increase regional co-operation over Afghanistan. |
| "In the course of the conference today, our special representative for Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, had a brief and cordial exchange with the head of the Iranian delegation," Mrs Clinton told a news conference. | "In the course of the conference today, our special representative for Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, had a brief and cordial exchange with the head of the Iranian delegation," Mrs Clinton told a news conference. |
| She said the meeting had been unplanned, but Mr Holbrooke and Mr Akhoondzadeh agreed to "stay in touch". | She said the meeting had been unplanned, but Mr Holbrooke and Mr Akhoondzadeh agreed to "stay in touch". |
| She added that the fact that Iran was present at Tuesday's meeting was "a promising sign that there will be future co-operation". | She added that the fact that Iran was present at Tuesday's meeting was "a promising sign that there will be future co-operation". |
| Afghan reconstruction | |
| Mrs Clinton was speaking at the end of the one-day meeting of delegates from 70 countries and other organisations interested in rebuilding Afghanistan. | Mrs Clinton was speaking at the end of the one-day meeting of delegates from 70 countries and other organisations interested in rebuilding Afghanistan. |
| The meeting had been called by the UN. | The meeting had been called by the UN. |
| Mohammad Mehdi Akhoondzadeh criticised US plans for a troops 'surge' | |
| During the conference, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that much of the aid given to his country had been wasted. | |
| He said that the failure to deliver aid effectively was causing widespread grievance among Afghans. | |
| In response, Mrs Clinton said aid should be more effectively spent, but added that the Afghan state needed to be more accountable and had to tackle corruption. | |
| She said that the cost of remaining in Afghanistan in the long term might be high, but would be worth it. | |
| "Let us be guided by an ancient afghan proverb - patience can be be bitter, but its fruit is sweet," she said. | |
| The BBC's international development correspondent David Loyn says US President Barack Obama's new Afghan strategy plan was given a broad welcome at the conference. |