India slams Israeli attack on Gaza aid flotilla

On the issue of Israel’s attack on a Turkish aid flotilla on May 31,Sharma said,“There can be no justification for such indiscriminate use of force,which we condemn.” He said India believed that only peaceful dialogue could find a solution to the problems of the region.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin also condemned the attack on the aid flotilla and called for an independent inquiry. China chose not to comment on the matter at the summit. Iran President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad’s speech in a closed-door session prompted a walkout by the Israeli delegation,led by the Israeli ambassador to Turkey.

Apart from Israel and Gaza,terrorism was also in the focus at the summit meet. Sharma laid down India’s concerns on terror: “Terrorism continues to be the most serious security threat confronting the international community.”

He reminded CICA members of the adoption of the ‘Declaration on Eliminating Terrorism and Promoting Dialogue among Civilizations’ at the first heads of state summit in Almaty in 2002 and added that much work still needed to be done. Urging members to act decisively,Sharma underlined the need to adopt a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.

‘China will never seek to be a superpower’

ISTANBUL: China made a strong pitch for greater democracy in international relations at the third summit meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia. State councillor Dai Bingguo,who is also responsible for border talks with India,said,“Where we live today is a world witnessing growing trends towards pluralism,diversity and multipolarity,a world adapting to globalised allocation of resources and movement of capital,goods and people. Such a world can no longer tolerate hegemony of any form or a single value system.”

Binggou also sought to allay fears about the rise of China,in particular its own role as a potential hegemon. “China will never seek to be a superpower. This is not our tradition and still less,our policy,” he said.

Interestingly though,China did not make any specific comment on the tension between Turkey and Israel,and the Israeli blockade of Gaza. ens