OIC chief calls for increase of aid to Kosovo refugees

Secretary general of the Jeddah-based Organization of the Islamic Conference, Azeddine Laraki, called the 55 OIC member countries to increase and coordinate their aid to the refugees of Kosovo.

"Our brothers in Kosovo are in urgent need of aid from Islamic countries," said Laraki in Tehran on Monday at a joint press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi.

Laraki called Islamic countries to honor their commitments towards their Muslim Kosovar brothers, and asked donor countries to make public their donations for a better coordination. He offered, in this regard, the OIC help to centralize copies of assistance statements.

After he insisted that the OIC's major objective is to ensure the return of all Kosovar refugees, Laraki said the refugees should not go to very distant countries, as this would make their return more difficult.

The Iranian foreign minister, whose country is currently chairing the OIC, called for a solution to the crisis through the United Nations Organization. "Chances for a political settlement are increasing," said Kharazi.

Kharazi made last month a trip to Moscow, Rome and Bonn, heading an OIC contact group on Kosovo.