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US welcomes Bahraini push for dialogue

WASHINGTON: The United States on Tuesday welcomed a call by Bahraini King Hamad for a national dialogue to begin July

Published June 1, 2011 Updated June 1, 2011 08:06am

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By Shoaib Ur Rehman

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"We view it as a positive step," State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.

He recalled that US President Barack Obama said in a recent speech on pro-democracy revolutions in the Arab world that "it's impossible for Bahrain to have the kind of dialogue that it needs to have while members of the opposition still are in prison."

Bahrain "needs to take positive steps to address... the legitimate aspirations of the people, and this would be a step in that direction," Toner said.

The king's call for a national dialogue came on the eve of the expected lifting of emergency rule imposed in mid-March to end a month-long uprising led by Shiite protesters that rocked the tiny Sunni-ruled Gulf state.

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