Ahmadinejad says Middle East peace talks doomed to fail

Sep 1, 2010, 15:11 GMT

Tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad predicted Wednesday that this week's Middle East peace talks between Israel and Palestine would once again fail.

'Just sitting around a table and holding talks and probably signing a paper will not solve any problem just like dozens of such talks held in the last 30 years led to no results either,' Ahmadinejad said in an interview with the Arabic news channel Al-Alam published on the network's website.

The negotiations, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday in Washington, are to be the first direct peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians in nearly two years.

Iran does not recognize Israel's sovereignty and said the only pragmatic option would be a referendum for all Palestinians, including millions of refugees, to determine their fate.

Iran also has no diplomatic relations with the United States, which Ahmadinejad said could not act as an impartial mediator in the talks because of Washington's backing of Israel.

Iran is to once again use the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan, which falls this week, for staging state-run anti-Israeli demonstrations throughout the country.