The presidential administration press service said that on Saturday Khatami had met with UN Secretary General's Special Representative on Iraq Lahdar Brahimi and said that "the occupation of the Iraqi territory makes life hard for the people, for the region, and for the occupation force itself. We endorse the active role of UN in Iraq that could solve the country's problems."
The Iranian President described the latest UN resolution on Iraq as progress in defining the future of the Iraqi people and confirmed there was a need for regional and international understanding of the country's difficulties.
He expressed his concern about the situation in Iraq and said, "the occupation force was too arrogant. Had they not intended to establish a dictatorship of their own, they would never have faced negative attitude from the Iraqi people."
"Right as Saddam Hussein was overthrown, the occupation force assumed responsibility for security and life support but failed to accomplish these primary tasks. They must end the occupation as soon as possible, which will serve their own interests and the interests of the Iraqi population and of the entire region," he said.
Khatami emphasized Iran was ready to cooperate with UN for stability and security in Iraq and Afghanistan in the interests of these two nations.
In his opinion, "the end of the Iraqi occupation and transfer of sovereignty to the population will promote UN's role in stabilizing the situation, rebuilding of Iraq, and improving relations with neighboring countries."
Khatami also said it was of utter importance that the UN-supervised presidential and parliamentary elections in Afghanistan were held without postponement. Currently both are scheduled for September.
Brahimi praised Iran's role in promoting stability and security in Iraq and handed in UN secretary general Kofi Annan's address to Khatami.
