TEHRAN – President Mahmud Ahmadinejad insisted on Wednesday that restoring Iraq’s sovereignty is needed to strengthen national unity in the country.

“No one benefits from war and clashes in Iraq. In this regard, maintaining the sovereignty of Iraq is essential to integrity and national unity in this country,” he said in a meeting with the top United Nations representative in Iraq, Staffan de Mistura.
The president said the presence of foreign forces in Iraq have caused many problems and suggested that “the solution to this problem is a pullout of the occupiers from Iraq based on a timetable.”
Ahmadinejad expressed his gratitude to regional countries for their efforts to establish peace and security in Iraq.
“An advanced and independent Iraq is to the benefit of all regional states and the Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes all efforts by the regional countries to expand bilateral and multilateral friendships with Iraq.”
He pointed to the close ties between Iran and Iraq, saying, “As the Iranian nation and administration enjoys firm and old relations with the Iraqi nation and administration, it will always help promote national unity, progress and security in the country.”
Elsewhere in his remarks, the president urged the UN to be actively involved in Iraq.
He went on to extend his gratitude to the UN representative and assessed his mission as “face saving” for the United Nations as he said an idea has been promoted that the “organization plays no role in global developments.”
Ahmadinejad expressed hope that Mistura’s efforts “will result in the establishment of peace, stability and security in the country.”
Mistura, for his part, assessed his negotiations with Iranian high ranking officials as positive and gave a report on the current state of affairs in Iraq.
Mistura appreciated Iran’s humanitarian aids to Iraq and its efforts to bring about peace to the war-ravaged country and expressed hope that the UN efforts along with a cooperation of regional states including Iran will result in a “peaceful and secure Iraq.