Emirates wants to focus on peace, says UAQ Ruler

Regional peace, security and stability will not be achieved without abiding by the principles of the Non-Aligned Movement, Sheikh Saud bin Rashid, Ruler of Umm Al Quwain and Supreme Council member, told the Nam summit in Tehran yesterday.

In his speech, the UAE representative listed those principles as respect for national sovereignty, non-interference in the internal affairs of others, good neighbourliness and willingness to find just solutions to issues of occupation.

Priorities include the resolve to find a fair, lasting solution to the Palestinian issue, and establishing a Palestinian state on the borders of June 1967, he was quoted by the state news agency Wam as saying.

The continuing violence in Syria was one of the big issues of the day. In a meeting with Syrian prime minister Wael Al Halqi, the UN chief Ban Ki-moon said fighting must stop "with primary responsibility resting on the government to halt its use of heavy weapons".

In a TV interview in Tehran, Syria's deputy foreign minister Fayssal Mekdad slammed Turkey for training "terrorists", and the Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi for calling the regime "oppressive".

newsdesk@thenational.ae

* With agencies