BUDAPEST: Former Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah delivers a lecture organized by Antall Jozsef Knowledge Center (AJKC). —KUNA

BUDAPEST: Racism, intolerance, and foreign intervention in the Middle East have led to countless wars, conflicts, and crises that will have grave repercussions on world affairs, said former Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah.

Problems in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Libya, the failed Mideast peace process, civil wars in the region, as well as the presence of the so-called Islamic States (IS) are products of a world that failed to manage resources and resolve disputes peacefully, Sheikh Dr Mohammad Al-Sabah said while delivering a lecture organized by Antall Jozsef Knowledge Center (AJKC) in Budapest, Hungary.  During the lecture on the GCC views of regional struggles in the Middle East, Sheikh Dr Mohammad Al-Sabah stressed that countries in the region and the international community failed to address challenges adequately, leading to a state of pandemonium and chaos.

Sectarian strife in the Middle East is also one of the major issues that needs to be dealt with swiftly or the fear-mongers will win, said Sheikh Dr Mohammad Al-Sabah. He added that the increasing involvement of countries such as Russia, Turkey, and Iran in the affairs of the region was a direct result of the unclear visions reflected by countries in the Middle East.

On ties between Iran and the GCC countries, Sheikh Dr Mohammad Al-Sabah said that relations were based on mutual respect for the interests of both sides, noting that Tehran and the GCC member states should focus on matters that would bring both parties together.

Far-right movements

The former Kuwaiti Foreign Minister touched on the recent surge of extreme nationalism and far-right movements in Europe and the US, saying it was a direct result from the huge flow of immigrants from Mideast conflicts zones and North Africa.  He said that extreme national sentiments in Europe and America did not generate from a void, affirming that foreign meddling in Mideast affairs have led to the creation of the refugee crisis.

Sheikh Dr Mohammad Al-Sabah also mentioned the 60-years-plus Middle East crisis between Israel and Palestine, saying that the international community's indifference towards the issue and the Israeli continuous unjust treatment of Palestinians will not end this conflict.

Israeli settlements must end and Tel Aviv must cease its brutal policies against Palestinians, signing a peace deal that will ensure the creation of two countries in the region, said Sheikh Dr Mohammad Al-Sabah. On the Brexit and the election of Donald Trump as US President, Sheikh Dr Mohammad Al-Sabah said that the British pullout from the EU and Trump's election created fear for the future of the world. He hoped that despite the current status quo, world countries would join forces together to find solutions to global threats and problems. - KUNA