Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday blamed his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump for the failure of French efforts to initiate a historic phone call between them last week at the United Nations.
The Islamic republic is prepared "to hold fruitful negotiations", he told the Iranian cabinet, referring to two days of diplomatic efforts by French President Emmanuel Macron.
"From my point of view, the path (to dialogue) remains clear,", he said in a speech carried on state television, thanking the French leader.
France's efforts at the U.N. General Assembly in New York "could have been acceptable, in a certain way", he said. "If anyone tried to prevent (contact taking place), it was the White House and nobody else".
While diplomatic efforts were in full swing, "the American president on two occasions" in the space of 24 hours "clearly announced an intensification of sanctions against Iran", said Rouhani.
"I said to our European friends: it's good but who should we believe? Should we believe what you are saying, that America is ready (to lift sanctions), or what the U.S. president is saying?"
Trump phoned Rouhani on the sidelines of the U.N. summit but he refused to take the call, a French diplomatic source said Tuesday.
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