Drop the Bush era slogans, Iran FM tells Clinton

Iran's foreign minister has urged his US counterpart to avoid using the anti-Iran slogans that were common when George W. Bush was in office.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was commenting on US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's remarks on Iran's nuclear program after her talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Tuesday.

Clinton said the US agreed with Russia that it is important to pursue diplomacy toward Iran but added that sanctions might become necessary if diplomacy fails.

"Stances adopted by Mrs. Clinton contradict the outcome of the Geneva talks and approaches such as the dual track lack efficiency," Mottaki said.

"We advise Mrs. Clinton to be realistic and to avoid repeating the useless slogans of the Bush era," Iran's top diplomat said.

Mottaki stated that Iran's latest package of proposals could pave the war for "constructive talks" between Iran and the major powers.