Tehran, July 21: Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has deplored the West’s unilateral support for the Israeli regime in dealing with the issue of Palestine.
In a meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart Nikolai Mladenov on the sidelines of the international conference on the future of Afghanistan, Mottaki called for the re-opening of Gaza border crossings to enable the people in the region to access their basic needs.
In June 2007, Israel laid economic siege to the Gaza Strip after Hamas was elected to govern the coastal sliver. Over 1.5 million Palestinians live under a relentless Israeli blockade which has now entered its fourth year.
The siege has caused a humanitarian disaster in the impoverished Gaza, where many have died due to food shortages and lack of medicine.
Mottaki and Mladenov also conferred over issues of bilateral ties as well as regional and international developments, including the Afghanistan crisis.
Mladenov expressed deep concern over the insecurity existing across Afghanistan, calling on the international community to take serious measures in that regard.
The international conference on Afghanistan was held in Kabul on July 20 with the aim of handing over the responsibility for the security of 34 Afghan provinces to the government.
——-Agencies