No middle way
Sir: Ask not whether Iran wants to negotiate with us; ask whether we want to negotiate with them (‘Diplomatic meltdown’, 16 November). Now that Syria has agreed to get rid of its chemical weapons, an opportunity has arisen to achieve a WMD-free Middle East. Iran would be the first to agree, given their bitter memories of having been at the receiving end of Saddam’s chemical weapons. Saudi Arabia should not be far behind, having consistently advocated a nuclear-free Middle East.
This will require the West, in particular America, to pressure Israel into ratifying the Chemical Weapons Convention and giving up its nuclear weapons. It’s in our interest to do so.
It’s also in our interest to distance ourselves from Saudi Arabia’s playing of the destructive sectarian card against ‘apostate’ Shiites. What a spectacle — ‘secular’ France cosying up to the Saudis.
Yugo Kovach
Winterborne Houghton, Dorset
Talking politics
Sir: James Forsyth (Politics, 16 November) quotes a senior parliamentarian as saying: ‘To bump off two Speakers in a row would set a dangerous precedent.
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