tenses

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And what about 'says'?

I suggest:

(A press release issued today said that / The spokesman informed the press that) security issues were/had been one of the chief topics of the talks.

Hi

OK, so I should use "said" and then either "were" or "had been". Actually I understand the usage of the past perfect (because it happened before) and I'm not sure why "were" is also correct?

And if we left "says," i.e., A press release issued today says that security issues ..... (and now the second part should be in the past)

I'm quoting this example because i

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Were is also correct because there is no real confusion about the order of the past events. Says is common journalistic (historical present) narrative, but I don't like it here because it is inserted between two past tenses-- very sloppy. I suppose that if you keep it, you could use present perfect-- or present-- besides past:

A press release issued

Mister Micawber.

A press release issued today says that security issues were/are/have been one of the chief topics of the talks.

In this case "had been" is incorrect?

But it would also be correct to say: ....will be one of the chief topics of the talks. (although it was supposed to be the past tense)

Tha

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Yes, I don't think had been works at all there.

Says...will be
Said...would be

Thank you!