Iran calls on Iraqi prez to remain committed to border accord
Iran has denounced comments by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani that he does not recognise the 1975 Algiers border accord and called on him to remain committed to the treaty, the official IRNA news agency reported.
By Agencies |
TEHRAN: Iran has denounced comments by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani that he does not recognise the 1975 Algiers border accord and called on him to remain committed to the treaty, the official IRNA news agency reported.
The Algiers Accord, which Iran and Iraq signed in 1975, set the border between the two countries in the middle of the waterway that empties into the Persian Gulf, known as Arvand Rood in Iran and Shatt-al-Arab in Iraq.
"Any comment about cancellation of the 1975 Algiers accord is without legal foundation ... The accord is the foundation stone for friendship and strengthening of relations between the two countries. Prospects for expansion of mutual ties can be perceived only within this accord," IRNA yesterday quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini as saying.
Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein tore up a copy of the 1975 treaty in a televised broadcast five days before his troops invaded Iran in September 1980, starting a bloody eight-year war that ended in a UN-brokered cease-fire in 1988. The two countries are yet to sign a formal peace treaty.
Talabani, who has generally enjoyed cordial relations with Tehran, has been quoted as saying that he doesn't recognize the accord, according to the Arabic satellite news channel Al-Jazeera's Web site.
When asked about Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's efforts to revive the Algiers Accord with Iran, Talabani said, "no way!, the website reported, saying Talabani said during a visit to Tehran that he refused to recognise the agreement.
"This agreement was between Saddam and the Shah of Iran not between Iran and Iraq. We want good and excellent relations with our Islamic republic neighbour of Iran and we have talked with our brothers Iranians before about it," the website reported.
The Algiers Accord, which Iran and Iraq signed in 1975, set the border between the two countries in the middle of the waterway that empties into the Persian Gulf, known as Arvand Rood in Iran and Shatt-al-Arab in Iraq.
"Any comment about cancellation of the 1975 Algiers accord is without legal foundation ... The accord is the foundation stone for friendship and strengthening of relations between the two countries. Prospects for expansion of mutual ties can be perceived only within this accord," IRNA yesterday quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini as saying.
Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein tore up a copy of the 1975 treaty in a televised broadcast five days before his troops invaded Iran in September 1980, starting a bloody eight-year war that ended in a UN-brokered cease-fire in 1988. The two countries are yet to sign a formal peace treaty.
Talabani, who has generally enjoyed cordial relations with Tehran, has been quoted as saying that he doesn't recognize the accord, according to the Arabic satellite news channel Al-Jazeera's Web site.
When asked about Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's efforts to revive the Algiers Accord with Iran, Talabani said, "no way!, the website reported, saying Talabani said during a visit to Tehran that he refused to recognise the agreement.
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"This agreement was between Saddam and the Shah of Iran not between Iran and Iraq. We want good and excellent relations with our Islamic republic neighbour of Iran and we have talked with our brothers Iranians before about it," the website reported.
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