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| Afghanistan | ||
| Iran set to attend UN meeting on Afghanistan | ||
| 2009-03-27 | ||
| United States President Barack Obama's hopes of new and improved relations with Iran started to seem possible as Iran said on Thursday it would attend a Washington-proposed U.N. conference on the future of Afghanistan, which calls for a regional solution to the "crisis." Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said Iran had yet to decide who to send to next Tuesday's international meeting in The Hague, which will be attended by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and delegates from more than 80 countries. News of Iran's participation is likely to be welcomed by the new U.S. administration of Obama, who has offered a "new beginning" of diplomatic engagement with the Islamic Republic on a range of issues.
Iran and the United States have not had diplomatic ties for three decades and are now at odds over Tehran's alleged nuclear work. But analysts say they share an interest in ensuring a stable Afghanistan, where violence is at its highest level since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. New solutions sought
Clinton is expected to provide details of a review of U.S. strategy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan, which is set to be released before the conference in the Dutch city. Iran said it was ready to help stabilize Afghanistan and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted as saying a regional solution was needed. Obama last month ordered the deployment of 17,000 extra U.S. troops to the country. Iran has often called for U.S. forces to leave the region, saying they are making the situation worse. "We believe that a regional solution should be found for the Afghanistan crisis," the semi-official Fars News Agency quoted Mottaki as saying during a visit to Brazil. "Iran's goal in the region is to help peace, stability and calm which is necessary for the region's progress," he said. Mottaki said earlier in March the United States was failing in Afghanistan and should recognize a new approach was needed. Qashqavi said Iran would also attend a separate meeting on Afghanistan in Moscow this week. | ||
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 " Iran goal in the region is to help peace, stability and calm which is necessary for the region's progress " "Kill the bastards" will accomplish the goal quite neatly. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2009-03-27 09:43 |