Stockholm - Martti Ahtisaari, Finland's former president and winner of the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize, on Saturday said he was "ashamed" over the lack of progress in efforts to solve the Middle East conflict.
"I am ashamed, I must admit that," Ahtisaari said in an interview broadcast by Swedish radio. "How can we, year after year, say that we are really trying to find a solution, when we are not?"
London - The credit crunch is slowing down peacemaking in the world's conflict zones by undermining the economic development of war-torn countries, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari said in London Friday.
"It will not help us to solve conflict with no economic development in those countries...We are avoiding taking the tough decisions that are needed," the former Finnish president told foreign journalists.
However, the 71-year-old said he basically remained optimistic about the future of world peace.
Washington - The United States praised Martti Ahtisaari for dedicating his life to ending conflicts around the world after the former Finnish president won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.
"The United States warmly congratulates President Ahtisaari and commends the Nobel Committee for its wise decision to award the Nobel Prize to Martti Ahtisaari," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
Oslo (Norway), Oct. 10 : Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari has won the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize for his peace-building and brokering efforts in international conflicts for more than 30 years, including his role in a 2005 accord between Indonesia and rebels in its province of Aceh, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.
"These efforts have contributed to a more peaceful world and to ''fraternity between nations'' in Alfred Nobel''s spirit," the committee said in announcing the prize.
Johannesburg - Minutes after winning the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize, Finnish ex-president Martti Ahtisaari's thoughts were with the south-west African desert state of Namibia, where he cut his teeth as a peace-broker in the 1970s.
The veteran mediator was a United Nations envoy to the country between 1977 and 1990 - during the struggle in then South West Africa's for independence from apartheid-era South Africa.
Stockholm - Martti Ahtisaari, Finland's former president and winner of the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize, on Saturday said he was "ashamed" over the lack of progress in efforts to solve the Middle East conflict.
London - The credit crunch is slowing down peacemaking in the world's conflict zones by undermining the economic development of war-torn countries, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari said in London Friday.
Washington - The United States praised Martti Ahtisaari for dedicating his life to ending conflicts around the world after the former Finnish president won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.
Oslo (Norway), Oct. 10 : Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari has won the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize for his peace-building and brokering efforts in international conflicts for more than 30 years, including his role in a 2005 accord between Indonesia and rebels in its province of Aceh, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.
