AFP, Vienna, Sept 26, 2008 (excerpts) – Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik strongly criticised a defiant speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, in which he lashed out at the US and Israel while insisting that Tehran would resist Western ’bullying.’
Ahmadinejad’s remarks ’went entirely in the wrong direction,’ Plassnik said.
’His comments were absolutely unacceptable; readiness for dialogue begins with choosing one’s words.’