By NNN-Bernama,
Kuala Lumpur : Iran does not think there will be much change in terms of its relations with the United States should Democratic candidate Barack Obama become president, says Dr Ali Akbar Velayati, the Adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader for International Affairs.
The only difference between the candidates running for president in the US elections this November was their foreign policy approach. “It’s between being flexible and hardline,” he said in response to a question during the forum on “Securing Peace in the Middle East: An Iranian Perspective” at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) here Thursday.
Asked about Iran’s expectations of Asia in helping secure peace in the Middle East, he said Asian powers could play a bigger role. The major problem in getting co-operation from Asian countries was the deep US influence in Asia.
Dr Velayati said this was in spite of the commonalities shared between Middle Eastern and Asian countries.
Earlier in his speech, he said the key solution to the difficulties faced by countries in the Middle East was co-operation among them and a sense of duty to help their neighbours attain peace.
Dr Velayati was Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs for 16 years, from 1981 to 1997, before being appointed to his current position.