BOSNIAN LEADER PRAISES IRAN FOR MAINTAINING REGION'S STABILITY
BBC Monitoring International Reports - July 5, 2006, Wednesday

Text of report in English by Iranian news agency IRNA website

Belgrade, 5 July: Bosnia's Muslim member of its tripartite presidency, Sulejman Tihic, here on Tuesday [5 July] referred to Iran as a powerful country which plays a key role in maintaining stability in the Middle East region.

His remarks came at a meeting with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Euro-American Affairs Sa'id Jalili, who is currently on a two-day visit of the Balkan state.

Welcoming President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad's invitation for him to visit Tehran, Tihic lauded Iran's effective and crucial role in events leading to the restoration of relative stability in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As to the issue of Iran's nuclear activities, Tihic was assured a suitable solution would be found to its nuclear case.

On the subject of Iran's humanitarian aid to Bosnia during the Balkans war and thereafter and, in particular, the return of refugees to their homeland, he singled out Iran as the only country that assisted the Bosnian nation without setting any pre-condition.

Referring to his recent meeting with President Ahmadinezhad on the sidelines of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, he said he was surprised by the Iranian president's wide range of information about Bosnia and the Bosnian people.

Tihic, whose country is still struggling to recover from the 1992-95 Balkans war that killed at least 100,000 people, stressed that his country's main objective now is to join the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

For his part, the Iranian diplomat voiced the Islamic Republic of Iran's keen interest in being a partner to global efforts to materialize peace and tranquillity through enforcement of justice in this world.

He said Tehran welcomes membership of Bosnia in the OIC and other regional organizations.

During his two-day visit, Jalili is to review issues of mutual interest with the Bosnian prime minister, parliament speaker, commerce minister and minister of foreign affairs.

Source: IRNA website, Tehran, in English 0910 gmt 5 Jul 06

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