Nato seeks no role in Iran issue
12/3/2005:
Source ::: The Peninsula
DOHA:
Nato does not seek or want to play a role in persuading Iran
to shelve its nuclear programme nor in the Arab-Israeli
conflict. The alliance also does not want to have a “heavy
political footprint,” in the GCC region, Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer, the Nato Secretary-General, told the media on
Thursday.
Scheffer was in Doha to attend the one-day Nato's Role in
Gulf Security Conference. Speaking to the press, he said
European Union members and Iran were engaged in diffusing
the situation caused by Tehran's pursuit of uranium
enrichment. “What is relevant is, there are consultations
between the two sides, which can help find solutions," he
added. Similarly, Nato, he said, was building relationships
that could help solve the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The Secretary General said that Nato was not in favour of a
permanent political presence in the GCC region. However,
Nato and GCC states such as Qatar could draw a sort of a
menu listing various avenues where the two could cooperate
such as in exchange of information about terrorist
activities, disaster mitigation efforts, training for joint
operations and others. Each country could select the sphere
in which they wanted to cooperate with Nato, he added.
Earlier, in his keynote address during the opening session
of the conference, Scheffer said the GCC, through
cooperation with Nato, would be able to generate the
strongest political momentum and military effectiveness to
ensure better security. “Nato has a wealth of experience to
offer to non-Nato countries. We have developed the necessary
political and military links with non-Nato countries to make
our cooperation very effective. That is why Nato is in a far
better position to make a tangible contribution to security
more widely, including Gulf security," he added.
He said Nato was looking at Gulf states since this region
faces formidable security challenges and several countries
in this area were targets of terrorist attacks. This region
is also the immediate neighborhood of flashpoints of
unresolved regional issues, proliferation risks and
political and religious extremism, he noted.
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