COMPROMISE OR CONFRONTATION

The opening session of the lran/lraq peace talks in Geneva was as stiff and as sticky as had been expected by most observers. Indicative of the sensitive concerns of the two parties was the reluctance of either to enter the negotiating chamber before the other, lest this be taken as a sign of weakness or concession. Eventually the two negotiating teams entered the chamber simultaneously, from opposite doors. The thirteen-man Iranian delegation, led by Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, included Dr. Hashemi Rouhani, a deputy of Hojatoleslam Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Majlis Speaker and acting Commander in Chief. The fifteen-strong Iraqi team, headed by Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz, included Ismat Kittani, Iraq's long-standing ambassador to the United Nations, and Dr. Riad Mahillud al Qaysi, a senior Foreign Ministry official.