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Former diplomat Vidya Bhushan Soni on Friday said that Iran is unlikely to accept conditions imposed by the United States, calling recent remarks by US President Donald Trump contradictory and part of a broader negotiating strategy.
Reacting to Trump's statement that Iran is "begging for a deal," Soni said, "I think it's amazing. I also watched the meeting with the cabinet, which President Trump held yesterday. And was quite amazed how the same president can contradict himself in the same statement. On the one hand, he is asking Iran to come to the negotiating table; otherwise, they will be destroyed. On the other hand, they are saying they are great negotiators, if you had seen the statement which he made. And then he's putting his own conditions." He added, "So as far as the conditions are concerned, I don't think America can impose those conditions. Iran will come to the negotiating table on their own terms. They can bear the loss, they can keep on bombarding their facilities, they can keep on destroying their things which they have. But they will not barter away their self-pride because Iran is a proud nation. It has a whole history and culture, and civilisation behind it." Soni emphasised that both sides are currently positioning themselves ahead of any formal talks. "So you can put your conditions, yes, but to that, there are counter conditions which Iran has put," he said. Explaining the dynamics of negotiations, he said, "This is the purpose of negotiators. You have two situations, all diametrically opposite to each other. How can we narrow them down to an issue where it is acceptable to both sides? Which means there is give and take. Give and take will be by both sides," he said. He further described the process as a phased exchange of positions before formal dialogue begins. "At the present moment, therefore, the two sides are putting their front position, the first position which they want. And once they know each other, they will do their own homework, and they will consider maybe discuss with the concerned authorities to decide to what extent they can give in and how they can ask for a counter to that," Soni said. According to him, actual negotiations would only begin once both sides establish basic rules and identify a "common denominator" acceptable to each. "But that's a negotiating ploy. When the actual hard negotiations start, things will be much different, the approach will be very much different, there has to be a give and take by both sides, which is minimally accepted to what is called the common denominator factor," he added. (ANI)
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