Monday, December 29, 2008

Ahmedinejad as mediator

The News reports:
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad is dashing to New Delhi early this week for talks with the Indian leaders with regard to the alarming situation prevailing in the neighbourhood. He may visit Islamabad immediately after concluding his discussions in the Indian capital. The Iranian president, who is deeply concerned about the rising tension between the two neighbouring nuclear states on its southeast, has been maintaining interaction with both the countries termed friends by Tehran.

The Iranian president will convert his endeavour into shuttle diplomacy if he gets encouraging signals from both the capitals. Pakistan will welcome such an effort. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehar Mottaki has already spoken to his Pakistani and Indian counterparts about the situation separately.
Iran has always had friendly relations with India supporting India against Pakistan in the Organization of Islamic Countries. Given that Pakistan has already acquiesced and that Indian approval is likely, the Iranian mediation might actually happen. The wildcard here is the US which probably will not like Iranian involvement, however useful it might be.

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