Mansour Meets Jaleeli, Salehi: Iran Capable of Contributing to Ending Problems of Non-Aligned Countries

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour stressed on Monday the importance of holding the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) meeting in Iran “given the circumstances in the region.”

He remarked: “Iran is a major regional power that can help contribute to ending the problems of non-aligned countries.”

He made his statements from Tehran after holding separate talks with Saeed Jalili, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, and Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi.

Mansour hoped that the non-aligned countries would rely on themselves instead of others from outside of the movement.

He added that Iran has demonstrated its self-reliance on the cultural, political, and economic levels.

His talks with Iranian officials also addressed the general situation in the region, especially the developments in Syria and their impact on Lebanon and other neighboring countries.

The foreign minister praised the Iranian initiative to end the crisis in Syria, which will be declared at the summit, given the Islamic state’s powerful position in the region and strong ties with Syria.

NAM foreign ministers were on Tuesday to take over from their aides to finesse the details of the summit, which will bring together heads of state and government from more than 30 countries, according to organizers.

The NAM, a Cold War grouping founded in 1961, has 120 members representing most of the developing world and which see themselves as independent of Washington and Moscow influence.

Although the organization had increasingly been seen as an anachronism in the past couple of decades, Iran is seeking to revive it as a counterweight to perceived domineering by permanent U.N. Security Council members Britain, France, China, Russia and -- especially -- the United States.