Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also declared that the crisis signaled the end of the “unjust and merciless” capitalist societies.

The Iranian leader, whose country faces steep unemployment and inflation, spoke at a U.N. development conference in Qatar aimed at gaining commitments from rich nations to pump billions of dollars into developing countries.

But most Western heads of state and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund chiefs did not attend the summit, hosted by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Instead, Ahmadinejad and other leaders at odds with the United States used the conference as a platform to criticize their opponents.

“They want to involve others in their loss,” Ahmadinejad said, cautioning developing countries against falling into a trap set by the “capitalist bloc.”

“They call it global, but this crisis came into being as a result of misusing others countries’ resources,” Ahmadinejad said. “They only want partners to share their losses.”

Earlier Saturday, Ban made a passionate plea to industrialized countries to alleviate the impact of the meltdown on the world’s poorest countries.

The global financial crisis has spared no countries, Ban said during the summit in the Qatari capital, Doha, but he stressed it’s “the poorest countries that will feel the blow most sharply.”

“Without exaggeration, we can say that the well-being of our people and the health of our societies — even the future of our planet — depends on what we do today,” Ban said.

An estimated 40 million people will plunge into poverty in 2009 as a result of the financial crisis, according to the World Bank.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy also strongly cautioned the rich against “sacrificing” the poor while looking for solutions to an “unprecedented financial crisis.” Sarkozy was one of the few leaders from rich countries to participate in the U.N.’s conference on financing development.

A representative from the UK-based aid organization Oxfam International said it was concerning that so few heads of state came to Doha.

“They should be addressing the crisis of poverty with the same energy and coordination as they are showing in the face of the crisis of the banking system,” said Ariane Arpa.

Qatar’s ruler also was critical of the West, saying it was unfair for the U.S. and others to be placing the burden of helping poor countries on oil-rich states like his.

“The developed countries have no right to tell others what to do, and direct others with advice and guidance and disburden themselves ... from obligatory contributions,” said Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, meanwhile, condemned the practice of conditioning aid to democratic reform and said helping the poor “should come with no strings attached.”

Zimbabwe continues to be “a victim of coercive measures” practiced by those who want “regime change” in the country, the longtime president told the summit.

Mugabe and Zimbabwean opposition leaders signed a power-sharing deal in September, but disagreements have stalled the formation of a government for more than two months and further plunged the country into instability. U.N. officials say more than 5 million people face imminent starvation in Zimbabwe and cholera is spreading in the country and the region.

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