Cairo - Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa on Tuesday renewed his call for an Arab-Iranian dialogue, describing it as "extremely important". Mussa said Arabs and Iranians should sit together to try to resolve their regional disputes. He said he was amazed that a dialogue between the West and Iran existed, while there was no such dialogue between the Arab states and Iran.
"I discussed this issue with several Arab leaders, plus Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who said that Iran has extensive ties with Arab countries, and that the differences in dealing with some issues can be addressed through bilateral dialogue," Mussa said.
The Arab League chief, who was giving a press conference to review the 2008 events worldwide and their repercussions on the region, also warned that Arabs should not let Iran and foreign powers alone determine the fate of the region.
Mussa was referring to the package of incentives the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany had offered Iran in return of halting its uranium enrichment.
In June, the European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana presented to Iran new incentives suggesting that Iran get a temporary reprieve from economic and financial sanctions in exchange for freezing its uranium enrichment activities.
