Tehran diplomatically joins Moscow in opposition to NATO involvement in Caucasus
Iran urges new security system in Caucasia
Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani said on Tuesday that the Caucasus region needs “new security arrangements” and called for adopting new measures to prevent armed conflicts in the region.
Russian tanks, troops and warplanes repelled the Georgian attack on its South Ossetian allies and drove deep into Georgia in a five-day war that killed hundreds of people and displaced nearly 200,000.
Georgia has emerged as a major focus of a struggle for influence, pitting Russia against the United States and the EU amid relations that have become increasingly frayed over the past decade.
Some analysts are of the opinion that the Georgian attack on South Ossetia took place with a green light from the White House.
“The events and recent developments in the Caucasus region indicate that the era of unilateralism has come to an end,” Larijani told visiting Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduard Nalbandian
Larijani said signing agreements with regional countries on establishing security in the region can be very effective in allaying security concerns.
The speaker stated that the Iranian parliament is ready to develop cooperation with regional countries especially Armenia to help set up regional alliances.
The Armenian chief diplomat described Iran as an important and great neighbor.
Nalbandian insisted that regional countries should resolve tension in the region without the interference of outsiders.
Iranian President: No need for NATO involvement in Caucasia
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said there is no need for the intervention of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the Caucasus tension.
“To settle differences among regional countries there is no need for the NATO interference,” the president said in a separate meeting with Nalbandian.
Experience has shown that the Western countries’ intervention in regional conflicts will make the situation worse, he stated.
Ahmadinejad said expansion of relations between regional countries will help promote security and peace in the region.
He also said the unipolar system has almost collapsed and its repercussions are seen in different parts of the world.
Georgia has angered Russia with its drive to join NATO. The alliance in April declined to take a key step toward membership for Georgia but assured the nation that it will eventually join.
The NATO leader also condemned Russia’s use of “”disproportional force”” and emphasized NATO’s demand that Moscow withdraw to positions its forces held before the fighting erupted, complying with a cease-fire deal brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The unresolved status of South Ossetia and Abkhazia has always given alliance members pause about accepting Georgia.
Russia has adamantly opposed NATO membership for Georgia, whose location straddling a key westward energy route for Caspian and Central Asian oil and gas supplies gives it outsize geopolitical importance.
