Tehran, SANA- Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdullahian emphasized Iran’s stress on maintaining Syria’s unity and territorial integrity, asserting that only the Syrian people have the right to decide the future of their country.
“The US forwarding arms to anti-Syrian government opposition groups is a strategic mistake, and it should reconsider it,” Abdullahian said during a meeting with the UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Elliason on Wednesday in Tehran.
He criticized as “useless” the goals of the “constructive destruction” policy of some countries, among them the regional countries, pointing out that the political solution is the only way for solving the crisis in Syria.
“We don’t accept that a few certain countries decide on behalf of the Syrian people, and we will not allow having Syria’s fate determined by terrorists,” Abdullahian said.
The Iranian official described the talks that were held recently with the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura in Tehran as “positive and constructive”, expressing Iran’s readiness for serious cooperation with the UN for resolving the crisis in Syria.
Abdullahian decried as “of no use” the US air strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) positions in Syria, criticizing the US’s contradictory policy with regard to combating terrorism.
For his part, Elliason stressed that the political solution is the only one for the crisis in Syria, saying that arming and financing the terrorists in this country should be stopped.
He appreciated the Syrian government’s cooperation with the UN with regard to the chemical weapons.
He considered the problem of extremism as the most important problem in the region, calling for the necessity to identity the roots for extremism and to collectively confront it.
In a relevant context, Abdullahian reiterated the strategic mistakes committed by the US and some regional players which he said have aggravated and prolonged the crisis in Syria and allowed it to knock on the doors of other countries and to create new crises with international dimensions such as ISIS.
Meeting Netherlands’ Special Envoy to Syria Marcel Kurpershoek in Tehran, Abdullahian described the international alliance against the ISIS outside the framework of the United Nations “UN” as a continuation of the previous wrong policies of the alliance member states.
Abdullahian added that this alliance will not succeed in fighting the ISIS due to the contradicted goals of its member states.
He referred to Iran’s stance with regard to the crisis in Syria, briefing the Dutch side on the political project proposed by his country for finding a solution to the crisis.
For his part Kurpershoek affirmed the necessity of finding a political solution to the crisis in Syria, and of halting the acts of violence and holding a national inter-Syrian dialogue.
He highlighted the key role of Iran in the regional developments, particularly in Syria.
Velayati, UN official emphasize need to restore security and stability in Syria
Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran discussed with UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson regional developments and terrorism, as well as a host of regional and international issues.
Velayati deplored the tough situation gripping Syria and Iraq due to the acts of takfiri terrorist organizations that have “put the Syrian and Iraqi populations through much trouble and difficulties.”
Velayati said Iran and the United Nations see eye to eye on the need to bring back security and stability to Syria and Iraq and to confront extremism and terrorism in the region, expressing Iran’s discomfort with the UN over its tackling of some regional issues.
Eliasson, for his part, hailed Iran’s role as a promoter of peace and security for solving regional crises, calling for a broader regional cooperation to face ISIS threat.
English Bulletin