IRAN WOULD MEET US AT THE 6+2 IN NEW YORK BUT NOT TALK, KHARRAZI
TEHRAN 3 Nov. (IPS) Iran's Foreign Affairs Minister Kamal Kharrazi confirmed
Saturday that he would see his American counterpart Collin Powell during the
meeting of the "Six Plus Two" group to be held in New York on 12
November on the fringe of the United Nations General Assembly.
The US State Secretary Powell had revealed earlier that he would meet
"face-to-face" Mr. Kharrazi during the UN-sponsored conference to
discuss the future of the war-torn Afghanistan.
The group, consisting of consists of the United States and Russia (2) plus Afghanistan neighbours, China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan (6) was formed by the United Nations in 1999 to ways to stem the illicit opium trade fuelled by the Taleban regime and also to bring Afghan warring factions to peace talks.
U.N. Special Envoy to Afghanistan Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, now in Tehran, is also expected to attend the session to discuss the results of a fact-finding tour he is conducting through the region, the source said.
Since the last meeting of the group at which both Mr. Kharrazi and the then Secretary of State Madeleine Albright were present, this one would be the second time that Iranian and American foreign ministers would seat at the same table.
Speaking at a joint press conference with the visiting Greek Foreign Minister, Mr. Kharrazi, returning from a trip to southeastern Asian Muslim nations of Indonesia and Malaysia as well as Japan said "there will be no special meeting between him and Mr. Powell".
"Members of the group would meet together to discuss the ongoing Afghan crisis, but any direct talks between me and Powell was out of question", he said, obedient to the regime’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameneh’i ruling out any direct dialogue with the United States.
"We will participate in the meeting to exchange views. We will also table our views on the future of Afghanistan", Mr. Kharrazi said, quoted by the official news agency IRNA.
To reporters questions on the US-led war in Afghanistan, the Iranian Minister doubted U.S.' objectives in deploying troops in the Central Asia, saying the neighbouring countries could not remain indifferent to this military presence.
"All the regional and Central Asian countries, including Russia, China and Iran are sensitive to the presence of American troops since it is not clear what is America after in its air raids on Afghanistan," he said.
His remarks came as almost all the regions nations, above all China and Russia have assured Washington of their full support in its fight against terrorism and some, like Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have placed their military bases, airports and installations at the disposal of American forces.
He again rejected military operations as a solution in the fight against terrorism, saying the roots of the thinking, which helps in the expansion of the phenomenon, should be stemmed.
Iran condemned the 11 September suicide terrorist attacks on the United States, but at the same time refused to join American military operations in its devastated neighbour ruled by the Taleban.
Iran does not have diplomatic relations with either country.
The United States strikes Afghanistan in an effort to unseat the orthodox Muslims that control 90per cent of Afghanistan, accused of giving protection to Mr. Osama Ben Laden and safe harbour to his organisation, "Al Qa’eda", blamed for the deadly attacks that brought down the World Trade Center in New York, killing 5,000 people, and damaging parts of the Pentagon in Washington D.C. ENDS IRAN US MEETING 31101.