Secretary-General's press encounter at Kuwait City Airport

SG: First of all, let me say that I am very happy to back in Kuwait again. I had very good discussions with the Prime Minister and with the Foreign Minister. We covered Iraq, Syria/Lebanon, we talked about UN reform and we talked about stability in this region in general. And I also discussed with them my visit to Iraq, where I had the chance to see many of the leaders, the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Acting President and members of the Sunni political group. I gave them a message of reconciliation: that it is better for them to all come together and all join the political process in an inclusive and transparent way, and also bear in mind the concerns and interests of others. That is the only way we are going to see stability and peace. Elections are important. They are important signposts. You may be able to use force to deal with certain situations, but the final and long-term solution, long-term stability, is when they learn to live with each other. Elections and military actions alone are not enough; they have to reconcile. And that is why I am extremely happy that the Arab nations have come together and are inviting them to come to Cairo for a reconciliation meeting. I hope the Iraqi parties will take advantage of that meeting and that encouragement and support from the region.

Q: Do you believe that the violence in Iraqi comes from inside Iraq or outside Iraq?

SG: I think you have a difficult situation in Iraq. I don't think one can pretend that all the problems in Iraq comes from outside. There may be some that come from outside, but there are a considerable amount of problems that will have to be solved by the Iraqis within Iraq.

Q: What is your reaction to Syrian President Assad's speech, as well as the issue of interviews by UN officials?

SG: I think what is important is that he did say, in that speech, that he will cooperate with the investigation. I will leave it to the investigator, Detlev Mehlis, to work out the details with the Syrian authorities as to where the interviews will take place, whether in Lebanon, Syria or elsewhere. That is something Mehlis will work out and I don't want to interfere.