BERLIN -- German President Johannes Rau here Thursday called Iranian President Seyed Mohammad Khatami a "great" political figure, commending his role in promoting the dialogue of cultures amid deepening mistrust between the Western and Islamic world.

"I view the Iranian president as a great (political) figure and I am very much encouraged by his style of conversation as well as his readiness for a dialogue," Rau said during a gathering with Berlin-based foreign journalists.

Referring to Khatami's landmark visit to Germany two years ago, Rau pointed out that their meeting in the east German town of Weimar was part of German-Iranian efforts to further promote the dialogue of cultures, IRNA reported.

Rau has strongly advocated Khatami's concept of dialogue of cultures, especially following last year's September 11 terrorist kamikaze attacks in the United States.