TEHRAN Yugoslav Deputy Foreign Minister Zoran Novakovic, who is on an official visit to Iran, here on Sunday called on Managing Director of the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) Fereydoun Verdinejad. In the meeting, the Yugoslav official said he was happy with the outcome of his meetings with Iranian officials and added "We had constructive discussions in Tehran and the two sides are interested in expanding and strengthening the existing cooperation.
" Commenting on Balkan crisis, Novakovic said the problems in the Balkans, stemming from historical background as well as ethnical and religious composition of the region, is very complicated and "we believe that during the events happening over past few years, the Yugoslav people had been exposed to unfair accusations." The Yugoslav official added, "If a nation is determined to preserve its independence and territorial integrity, then no power can prevent it from doing so and this fact can be clearly seen among the Iranian people and is the main factor in building confidence between the two nations of Iran and Yugoslavia." Novakovic said every country is entitled to choose its own ways for development, but the monopoly and the interventions of the big powers spearheaded by the U.S. has created a sense of mistrust in future among some nations.
He added Yugoslavia as one of the founders of non alignment movement calls for cooperation among the countries to confront any kind of monopoly and believes that the Islamic Republic of Iran can play an effective role in that connection.
(IRNA)