By NNN-IRNA,
Tehran : Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told the UN high representative for Alliance of Civilizations Jorge Sampaio that the Iranian nation is interested in dialogue.
Sampaio is currently in Tehran to attend the two-day international conference on ‘Religion in the Modern World’ which kicked off on Monday.
On the critical situation in the Palestinian occupied lands, he expressed regret that all plans presented by the international community for settlement of the Palestinian problems lacked fair approach toward the Palestinian people.
Rejecting any military solution to the Palestinian issue, Mottaki said if the policy of dialogue and bilateral talks had materialised, the Palestinian problems would have been solved many years ago.
Sampaio, the former president of Portugal, said that Iran has great civilization and culture and that the Islamic Republic can play a constructive role in many world developments.
He then termed injustice, discrimination and monopolistic attitudes as obstacles in the way of promotion of peace and stability throughout the globe.
Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, ex-Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, and former Norwegian Prime Minister Bondevick, former French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, ex-Swiss President Joseph Deiss, former Irish President Mary Robinson, former Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga, ex-Sudanese Prime Minister Sadeq al-Mahdi and former UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor were other dignitaries attending the conference.
The conference addressed the issue of how religious and political leaders can cooperate to promote peace by protecting human rights, moral and religious values, diversity and peaceful coexistence in pluralistic, modern societies.