Regional peace not possible in presence of foreign forces

14 October 2008

Tehran-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday evening that as long as foreign forces are in the region, the regional peace, stability, and security would not be materialized.

He made the remarks in a meeting with former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, former Italian prime minister Romano Prodi, and former Norwegian prime minister Bondevick, who are currently in Tehran to attend the International conference on 'Religion in the Modern World' kicked off in Tehran on Monday.

Former president of Ireland Mary Robinson wears an Islamic veil as she delivers a speech during the 'Conference on Religion in the Modern World' in Tehran, on 13 October 2008.

The Iranian president reiterated that presence of foreign states in the region is the root cause of all regional problems, stressing that war and bloodshed would not help settle the existing problems.

He added that any decision or agreement leading to continued presence of foreign forces in Iraq would further aggravate the situation in that country.

Referring to threats, occupation and terrorist operations as three regional problems, Ahmadinejad said the Islamic Republic has been the victim of all the three phenomena in the past three decades.

Condemning occupation of Palestinian territories, he added that the Palestinian nation should decide their own affairs.

Bondevick, who is also head of Oslo Peace Center, said for his part that military solution is never a durable solution to the problems.

The world should look for the root cause of problems, he added.

Meanwhile, Prodi called for establishment of lasting peace throughout the globe and underscored the need for eradication of extremism which wages war in the world.

Annan urged all world states to have dialogue on settlement of peace and stability.

He also expressed his satisfaction with establishment of stability in Lebanon.

Former French prime minister Lionel Jospin, ex-Swiss president Joseph Deiss, former Portuguese president Jorge Sampaio, former Irish president Mary Robinson, former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga, ex-Sudanese prime minister Sadeq al-Mahdi and former UNESCO director general Federico Mayor are among other dignitaries attending the two-day conference.

The two-day conference will address the issue of how religious and political leaders can cooperate to promote peace by protecting human rights, moral and religious values, diversity and peaceful coexistence in pluralistic, modern societies.

Further Reading:

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