He was speaking at a joint press conference in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, following summit talks on February 17 with his Pakistani and Afghan counterparts, Asif Ali Zardari and Hamid Karzai.
"There is no fundamental problem among countries of the region. All problems are coming from the outside," Ahmadinejad said.
"In order to promote their goals and ambitions, [the West] always seeks to promote division among all countries of the region."
Ahmadinejad said foreign powers "don't want to allow our nations to develop."
He didn't identify which outside powers he was referring to.
Ahmadinejad called for countries in the region to "stick together in order to advance and achieve our goals."
Karzai Calls For Action
Ahmadinejad's comments come with Afghan and Pakistani officials publicly calling for cooperation to help achieve a settlement with the Afghan Taliban and end the war in Afghanistan between Afghan and NATO-backed forces and the Islamic militia.
Karzai said that what he called "impediments" in relations between Kabul and Islamabad must sooner, rather than later, be removed so that progress can be made in peace talks to end the war, now in its 11th year.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, who has publicly backed making progress in Afghanistan peace efforts, on February 17 denied allegations that Pakistani armed forces were "directly or indirectly involved" in the conflict on the side of the Taliban.
The Afghan Taliban has rejected recent claims by Karzai that the U.S. and Afghan governments have begun talks with the militants about a settlement.
The Iranian president's remarks also come as Iran has been dealing with tightened international sanctions, including an oil embargo by the European Union that Western states and the United Nations Security Council have imposed over the Iranian nuclear program.
Despite such sanctions, Iran announced a series of advancements in its nuclear program on February 15.
Iran said it had used domestically made nuclear fuel in a research reactor in Tehran for the first time and also unveiled a "new generation" of faster, more efficient uranium-enrichment centrifuges at its Natanz facility in central Iran.
Meanwhile, in a letter dated February 14, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Said Jalili, told world powers that Tehran was ready to resume stalled nuclear talks at the "earliest" opportunity.
But the letter sent to European Union chief diplomat Catherine Ashton, who represents the United States, France, Britain, Germany, China, and Russia in the talks, was vague on whether Tehran was ready to address international concerns over its nuclear program.
Ashton in October said in a letter that the powers could meet with Iran if it was ready to tackle those concerns.
Western powers suspect that Iran is seeking to build a nuclear bomb, a charge Iran denies.
Trilateral summit in Islamabad from today
Pakistan to host Afghan, Iranian leaders
Pakistan on Thursday welcomes the leaders of Afghanistan and Iran for a regional summit at a key juncture in peace efforts with the Taliban and amid rising tensions between Tehran and Israel.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in Islamabad mid-morning, the Pakistani foreign ministry confirmed, for a series of talks with government and opposition figures on his second visit to the country in nine months.
Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was expected to arrive in the afternoon before formal summit talks on Friday, followed by a news conference.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in Islamabad mid-morning, the Pakistani foreign ministry confirmed, for a series of talks with government and opposition figures on his second visit to the country in nine months.
Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was expected to arrive in the afternoon before formal summit talks on Friday, followed by a news conference.
Pakistan, the historic ally of the Taliban, says it will do anything required by Kabul to support an Afghan-led peace process, but there is a wide degree of skepticism in Afghanistan and the United States about its sincerity.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar visited Kabul this month on a fence-mending visit amid reports that Kabul and Islamabad felt isolated by contacts between the United States and the Taliban in the Gulf state of Qatar.
But in an interview published in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, Karzai said the Afghan government was part of three-way peace efforts.
The Taliban have refused to talk to Karzai’s U.S.-backed government.
“There have been contacts between the U.S. government and the Taliban, there have been contacts between the Afghan government and the Taliban, and there have been some contacts that we have made, all of us together, including the Taliban,” Karzai was quoted as saying.
He did not mention any Pakistani involvement, but said cooperation from Islamabad “would make the whole matter easier”.
Pakistan says the trilateral summit will focus on cooperation on counter-terrorism and transnational organized crime including drug and human trafficking, border management and trade issues.
Islamabad is moving towards a detente in its own relations with Washington, which took a drastic turn for the worse over last year’s covert American raid that killed Osama bin Laden and air strikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar visited Kabul this month on a fence-mending visit amid reports that Kabul and Islamabad felt isolated by contacts between the United States and the Taliban in the Gulf state of Qatar.
But in an interview published in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, Karzai said the Afghan government was part of three-way peace efforts.
The Taliban have refused to talk to Karzai’s U.S.-backed government.
“There have been contacts between the U.S. government and the Taliban, there have been contacts between the Afghan government and the Taliban, and there have been some contacts that we have made, all of us together, including the Taliban,” Karzai was quoted as saying.
He did not mention any Pakistani involvement, but said cooperation from Islamabad “would make the whole matter easier”.
Pakistan says the trilateral summit will focus on cooperation on counter-terrorism and transnational organized crime including drug and human trafficking, border management and trade issues.
Islamabad is moving towards a detente in its own relations with Washington, which took a drastic turn for the worse over last year’s covert American raid that killed Osama bin Laden and air strikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
But despite strong U.S. objections, Pakistan says it is pressing ahead with a multi-billion-dollar project to build a gas pipeline to import fuel from Iran.
“There is no change or shift regarding the gas pipeline project and it is scheduled to be completed by 2014,” said the official.
Israel this week accused Iran of targeting its diplomats in Georgia, India and Thailand, against a backdrop of speculation that the Jewish state or the United States could be months from launching military strikes against Iran.
On Wednesday, Ahmadinejad unveiled new strides in Tehran’s nuclear program in a defiant blow to U.S. and EU sanctions designed to rein in its atomic activities.
“I don’t think so,” a senior Pakistani government official told AFP when asked if mounting tensions between Iran and Israel, and the showdown over Iran’s nuclear program, would dominate the summit.
“There is no change or shift regarding the gas pipeline project and it is scheduled to be completed by 2014,” said the official.
Israel this week accused Iran of targeting its diplomats in Georgia, India and Thailand, against a backdrop of speculation that the Jewish state or the United States could be months from launching military strikes against Iran.
On Wednesday, Ahmadinejad unveiled new strides in Tehran’s nuclear program in a defiant blow to U.S. and EU sanctions designed to rein in its atomic activities.
“I don’t think so,” a senior Pakistani government official told AFP when asked if mounting tensions between Iran and Israel, and the showdown over Iran’s nuclear program, would dominate the summit.
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