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Interview: Syrian conflict, bloodshed should be ended as soon as possible: Palestinian FM

29 August 2012 21:55 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The conflict and bloodshed in Syria should be ended as soon as possible, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki told Xinhua in an interview on Wednesday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

On the sidelines of the two-day ministerial level meeting of the 16th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit, the Palestinian foreign minister told Xinhua that the conflict in Syria is wrecking the country and causing a lot of miseries to the Syrian people, which is a major concern for the world.

Al-Malki stressed that the Palestinians are very concerned with the Syrian crisis, but would not interfere in Syria’s internal affairs. Currently there are about 500,000 Palestinians living in Syria, and the Palestinian authorities hope their daily lives would not be affected by the 18-month unrest, said al-Malki.

The Palestinian minister noted that some Palestinians living in Syria were attacked lately, condemning the violence that has left dozens of Palestinians killed.

Iranian officials said days ago that Tehran would put forward a peace plan on the Syria crisis on the sidelines of the 16th NAM summit. "The summit would consider and discuss any suggestions that aim to end the conflict and bloodshed in Syria," al-Malki said, expressing hope that concerning parties would work out solutions to the Syrian crisis as soon as possible.

As for the Iranian nuclear issue, al-Malki said NAM thinks that all countries, not just NAM members, have the rights to the peaceful use of nuclear energy. "Some countries accused Iran of developing nuclear programs without a peaceful purpose, but so far there is no evidence indicating that Iran would deviate from the peaceful course."

According to al-Malki, NAM supports the peaceful use of nuclear energy by Iran and demands Iran open those projects to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He expressed hope that the Iranian nuclear crisis would be addressed through negotiation, thus avoiding pushing the whole region into a war.

The sanctions imposed by the West on Iran are not working, al- Malki noted.

As for the Palestinian issue, the minister said the Palestinians have gained broad support from NAM countries. The fact that there is a special committee dealing with the Palestinian issue shows that NAM attaches a great importance to this issue.

Al-Malki denied that the Islamic Hamas movement had been invited to participate in the summit. He clarified that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has received the invitation and agreed to attend the meeting.