Nobel peace winners fear ‘new, more dangerous Cold War’

Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci (C) poses with Rome ‘s Mayor Ignazio Marino (L) after he received the Peace Summit Award from Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama (2ndL) and Nobel Peace Prize co-winner Yemen’s Arab Spring activist Tawakkul Karman (R) at the end of the 14th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates on December 14, 2014 at Rome’s City Hall. AFP

ROME, Italy – Nobel peace prize winners on Sunday expressed deep concern about the growing threat of conflict, including nuclear war, and “a new and more dangerous Cold War”.

“This threat arises from the continuing view of some great powers that they can achieve their goals through military force,” said the peace winners in a press release at the end of a summit in Rome.

They highlighted the conflict in Ukraine, which they said was “threatening the stability of Europe”, as well as conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Israel and the Palestinian territories, Afghanistan and South Sudan.

They underlined the threat of fanaticism in the guise of religion and expressed concern about an “increasingly dangerous turn” in events in the Middle East.

Participants in the summit, which started Friday, included the Dalai Lama, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Iranian human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi and Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee.

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