TEHRAN - Munich Security Conference chairman Friedrich Ischinger believes that that terrorism will “backfire” on countries that support it.

Ischinger says terrorist groups do not emerge by themselves and certainly there are “countries or forces or governments in the region” that support them with the aim of benefitting from them.
“I am sure there are countries or forces or governments in the region that have thought that they could benefit from supporting these types of groups,” Ischinger tells the Tehran Times in an exclusive interview on Saturday, October 17.
“Obviously these types of movements don’t come out of nowhere,” Ischinger notes.
Ischinger, who organized the preliminary Munich Security Conference in Tehran on Saturday, also suggests that a “single strategy” that involves key regional players and extra-regional powers is needed to fight terrorism.
This is the text of the interview:
Q. What approaches should be adopted to fight terrorism in the Middle East?
A. The single most important thing is to develop a single strategy. What we have currently is rather a chaotic approach where Iran has a strategy, Russia has a strategy, where the United States has a strategy, France has a strategy, and Germany tries to play hopefully a useful role. That is not good enough. We need to have one strategy against terrorism because it is a challenge to all of us and that is why we are here to start talking to Iran about these issues, regional security and terrorism.
We have been talking to your country for the past 13 years practically only about the nuclear issue. Now the door opens for a discussion about these regional and global security issues. That is good. That is why we wish to use this opportunity, because Iran is important. It is one of the key actors in the region and there is need to try to achieve some fundamental agreement about how we define the fight against terrorism and who does what and in which area to work together.
Q. Will Iran’s plan for resolving crises in the region get adopted by other countries?
A. I think we are not quite there yet. But I believe as we speak very important efforts are being made to bring together a coalition. Chancellor Angela Merkel is in Turkey this weekend [October 17]. Minister Steinmeier is travelling from here onto Riyadh to try to work with the Saudis and the Saudi neighbors about how they can contribute and how we should cooperate. So I think progress is being made and efforts are being undertaken.
Q. What policy do you think Western countries should adopt in the campaign against terrorism and extremism in the Middle East region?
A. I think there are a number of things that the West can do. The first one, of course is that we have the potential of helping to alleviate poverty and economic hardship; however, it always takes two to tangle. And as we have learned throwing money at the problem doesn’t solve the problem. So we need partners in the region who are willing to develop their economic prosperity, to invest in growth. And I think in particular my country is very interested in helping the countries in the region in terms of education, agriculture, industry, and other areas of cooperation. So the potential is there, willingness is there, but it has to be a two-way street.
Q. What is your view of the involvement of Russia in Syria?
A. The prevailing view in Western countries is that the Russian military intervention in the Syrian conflict is not seen as immediately helpful. However, I believe that it should be possible to agree some fundamental objectives with Russia. Russia also wants stability in the region. Russia also doesn’t want terrorism to spread into Russia and into Berlin, so to speak. So, I think it should be possible to have more discussions with Russia about whom to bomb, whom to fight, and whom not to bomb and whom not to fight. At the present moment, we have not reached that point. There are still significant disagreements about the wisdom of the Russian approach, but I see with some satisfaction that discussions have started between Russia and the United States, and in the European sides, we will certainly have intense discussions with Russian also. So maybe there will be light at the end of tunnel.
Q. Do you agree that some Arab states have been fanning the flames of extremism in the region?
A. I am not sufficiently expert in what have been the sources of growth of ISIS and other forms of terrorism activities in the region. But obviously these types of movements don’t come out of nowhere. They have been and are supported by some. So, yes, of course. I agree with you. I am sure there are countries or forces or governments in the region that have thought that they could benefit from supporting this types of groups. I believe this is misguided. I believe this will backfire in the long term because terrorism, as I understand it, doesn’t stop at any one’s door. It will at the end of the day, also destroy those who supported it in the initial period.
Q. Do you agree with this view that Saudi air strikes on Yemen can complicate the situation more in the region?
A. The case of Yemen, for me, is an illustration of the fact that there is no security architecture, no strategic consensus in the region. I believe with respect to Yemen, countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Russia, U.S. and others should get together and think about how we can stop the civil war or the conflict in Yemen together. My impression, in this particular case, is that each party does what it thinks is best without the kind of responsible regional presentation that are necessary. I think in the long run what this region needs is a kind of an institutional, organizational structure that allows countries without losing face to consult each other on how best to react to this types of serious security challenges.
Q. What does the future hold for the Middle East?
A. The situation can only improve. It can’t get much worse. I think things will have to turn in the positive direction. It can’t be much worse. You have too many conflicts in the region. Your ethnic conflict, religious conflict, your economic hardship and poverty have to end. It needs to start with ending the Syrian conflict. If that can be handled, other conflicts can be ended. Libya is the next case, Yemen…. But it will only work if we see eye to eye. We in Europe, you in Iran, the Sunni Arab states and the other actors, as I said Turkey, Russia the U.S. We all need to sit around one table and speak about peace and prosperity in the Middle East.