You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Annan postpones Iran visit
2005-11-05
UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Friday postponed a planned trip this month to Iran, which has called for the destruction of Israel. “The secretary general and the Iranian government have mutually agreed that this is not an appropriate time for him to travel to Iran,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
The caterer has been having such a problem.
“In light of the ongoing controversy, it would have been difficult to advance the agenda that he had wanted to discuss with the Iranian leadership.”

Annan leaves this weekend for a tour that would have taken him to Iran from November 11 to November 13. He will now go to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Pakistan. Annan is traveling through Paris, where he is scheduled to meet with President Jacques Chirac about Monday, the spokesman said in a statement.

Annan’s trip will focus on the Middle East, including regional stability, the Middle East peace process, Iraq, and the follow-up to September’s UN World Summit.
Not that anything will be accomplished, of course.
US lawmakers issued a statement saying a visit by Annan would have sent the wrong message after the Iranian president’s remarks. Republican Mark Kirk from Illinois, a member of the House of Representatives, said: “An official visit to Iran by the UN secretary general would only reward a man who just threatened genocide against the Jewish people.

“We formed the United Nations out of the ashes of the Nazi Holocaust and we cannot allow an international leader to threaten another one.”
That's well said.
New Jersey Democratic member Rob Andrews said that any official visit by the secretary general had to be ruled out at a time when Iran’s hostile attitude towards Israel and disputed nuclear program are under international scrutiny. “At a crucial moment in diplomatic efforts to bring Iran into compliance, an official visit by the secretary general would legitimize the regime’s current position and undermine the international community,” Andrews said in a statement.
Posted by:Steve White

00:00