Talks May Improve because of Schroeder Iran Trip

Gerhard Schroeder, the former German Chancellor, is under a lot of scrutiny because he had met with the president of Iran. However, the visit he made to Tehran may actually assist a lot of Western nations in boosting their negotiation efforts with the country regarding its nuclear program. During the whole course of his four day stay the other week, Schroeder had a meeting with a group of Iranian businessmen and facilitated talks with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president. The former is known for making past remarks regarding the myth of the Holocaust as well as referring to Israel as a tumour – two notions which were very much condemned by the rest of the world.

Encouraging Political and Campaign Intentions

A lot of German politicians had said that having talks with Ahmadinejad is good in strengthening up his position in the upcoming June presidential elections, and that the Central Council of Jews located in Germany had also mentioned that such a trip made by Schroeder could possibly damage the reputation of Germany. Gert Weisskirchen, the SPD or Social democrat foreign policy expert, had remarked that one will need to see if it is wise to come up with positive pictures for Ahmadinejad before the June elections. However, a lot of analysts also say that the trip is good in reinforcing the new approach of the West when it comes to Tehran and could put United States President Barack Obama in a better position to convince Iran to conduct negotiations regarding its nuclear program. This program was essential in this kind of climate because it was ruled out by the former administration run by George W. Bush.

Ready to Talk

The visit made by Schroeder is in line with the carefully designed strategy which Obama had created versus Iran. According to Johannes Reissner, a political scientist, they are ready to get into serious talks with them and there is also the awareness of having to make a decision about it. Reissner goes on to say that he assesses the trip to be very positive because it is like one of the many steps initiated by the West. It is a good plan of action and that as far as Obama is concerned, things are moving along as planned. Many Westerners have long suspected Tehran of wanting to utilize its nuclear program in order to produce nuclear bombs. Iran, on the other hand, says that they had to have such technology in order to promote electricity generation and not weapons of mass destruction. While the trip made by Schroeder was private, a lot of analysts also say that Tehran viewed his visit as one made by the man who was able to lead Europe into its best economic times during the years 1998 to 2005.