Ahmadinejad raps Obama, but wants ‘logical’ talks

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said President Obama, who condemned the Iranian leader’s controversial comments at a U.N. racism conference, wasn’t living up to his promise of change by boycotting the event.

Ahmadinejad also said in a TV interview that he still supports “logical dialogue” with the U.S.

{mosads}Speaking at the Durban II conference Monday, Ahmadinejad said that the state of Israel had been founded “on the pretext of Jewish suffering” during World War II. Ahmadinejad also called Israel the “most cruel and repressive racist regime,” prompting the walkout of dozens of European Union diplomats.

Obama said Tuesday while meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah II that he “found many of the statements directed at Israel to be appalling and objectionable.”

Delivering a speech south of Tehran on Wednesday to a crowd chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” Ahmadinejad fired back.

“I should give you, the new U.S. administration, this advice,” Ahmadinejad said. “Mr. Obama came to power with the slogan of ‘change,’ meaning the American people like the rest of the world want a change in the colonialism policy. Therefore it would have been imperative for him to take part in the world’s most important conference of racism and denounce racism, (confirming) that the U.S. is pursuing a changed policy in confronting racism.

“But to sit at his place and condemn my remarks is not helpful in solving the issues,” he said.

Obama said that Ahmadinejad’s “not helpful” Geneva speech “hurts Iran’s position in the world”; Ahmadinejad claimed Wednesday that instead he’d dealt a severe blow to Israel in his conference appearance.

{mosads}In an interview on Swiss television, Ahmadinejad said that Iran has concerns about human rights in Europe and the U.S., instead of vice versa, but said he is still open to dialogue with America.

“We welcome relations based on respect and justice and we support logical dialogue,” Ahmadinejad said in the TV5 interview.

“It was the U.S. that unilaterally severed its ties with Iran 29 years ago,” he added. “Nevertheless, I sent a message to Mr. Bush and invited him to have a debate at the U.N. I have also sent a message to Mr. Obama, but I have not received any response yet.”

Interestingly, one of the parties who walked out on Ahmadinejad’s comments also rapped Obama for the boycott.

“It’s paradoxical. They don’t want to listen to Iran in Geneva but they are ready to talk to them,” French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in a radio interview with Europe1. “More than a paradox, it could really be a mistake.”

The State Department announced late Saturday that “with regret” the U.S. would not be attending the conference — a follow-up to 2001’s controversial racism conference in Durban, South Africa — that began Monday.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood issued a statement noting that even though the U.S. “applaud[s] the progress that has been made” in crafting a more acceptable conference document, it would not be enough for the U.S. to attend.

“The text still contains language that reaffirms in toto the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) from 2001, which the United States has long said it is unable to support,” Wood said. “… The DDPA singles out one particular conflict and prejudges key issues that can only be resolved in negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians. The United States also has serious concerns with relatively new additions to the text regarding ‘incitement,’ that run counter to the U.S. commitment to unfettered free speech.”