Iran Blasts NATO for Mideast Policy

Source: Alalam.ir, 28-8-2008
DUSHANBE--Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad criticized NATO Thursday for failing to establish security in Afghanistan and raising tension among the regional countries by its expansion plans.
Speaking alongside his Russian and Chinese counterparts, Dmitry Medvedev and Hu Jintao, Ahmadinejad said: "The presence of NATO forces in Afghanistan has not only not helped ensure security but has led to the deaths of innocent people on a regular basis."
Ahmadinejad made the remarks at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a regional grouping consisting of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The Iranian president referred to a "horrific attack" Friday in Afghanistan's western province of Herat in which US-led airstrikes killed 90 civilians.
US army in Afghanistan has been blamed for civilian causalities by Afghan officials. The United Nations human rights team confirmed that 60 children were among the 90 people killed in US-led Friday airstrike.
Ahmadinejad also hit at NATO expansion plans in the former Soviet Union, which have been blamed for raising tensions between Russia and its ex-Soviet neighbors including pro-Western Georgia.
The Iranian leader said: "Some Western powers, by encouraging certain political forces and countries and calling on them to join military agreements, are harming integration in the region and are creating tension in relations between neighboring countries."
"This is how they pave the way for political and military influence... and unfortunately their unilateral actions are continuing," he added.
Iran and Afghanistan have observer status in the SCO, which was founded in 2001 as a counterweight to NATO in the strategic Central Asian region.
The summit in the Tajik capital Dushanbe has been overshadowed by an armed conflict between Georgia and Russia, which is stoking fears of a new Cold War because of vehement Western drive to isolate Moscow politically.
China and Central Asian states attending the SCO summit voiced support for Russia's "active role" in trying to end the Georgia conflict in south Ossetia.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the "united position" of the summit should send a message to the West.
"I am sure that the united position of the SCO member states will have international resonance," Medvedev said. "And I hope it will serve as a serious signal to those who try to turn black into white and justify this aggression."