United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Wednesday that the majority of Middle Eastern leaders he recently met regard the US-led invasion of Iraq and its consequences as deeply damaging to regional stability.
Annan, who returned late last week from a two-week visit to the region, said the US faces a paradoxical situation: regional leaders are divided between urging American forces to remain until conditions improve and demanding an immediate withdrawal. Iran offered to assist with a US exit but provided no specifics.
The secretary-general declined to state his own position on withdrawal timing, saying only that any departure must be carefully managed to avoid triggering further violence or instability.
Annan noted that the UN would host a meeting of the Iraq Compact on Monday, a group established by the Iraqi government to bolster the country's economic development. He hinted that skeptics might be pleasantly surprised by the results.
The news conference also served as a preview of the UN General Assembly's annual ministerial session, set to open Tuesday. Annan is scheduled to leave his post on 31 December, when his second five-year term concludes.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in September 2006, in its own words.