Idea of breaking up Syria is rejected: Iran

Source : Tehran Times

TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has said that the idea of breaking up Syria is rejected because it will cause the crisis in the Arab state to spill over into other regional countries.

“If a political vacuum is created in Syria or Syria is divided, the crisis in the country will spread to the entire region and will compound the problems of regional countries,” Salehi told Al Hayat in an interview in Jeddah published on Tuesday.

The Syrian government and opposition groups should sit at the negotiating table and discuss the establishment of a transitional government and the holding of elections based on the Constitution, he added.

Salehi also welcomed a U.S.-Russian proposal for an international conference on ending the two-year-old conflict in Syria, expressing hope that it would help find a political solution to the crisis.

“Since the onset of the crisis till now, Iran has announced that it agrees with a political solution to the Syrian crisis without the interference of foreign parties and believes that the sovereignty of Syria is still intact. The people have some demands, and they should enjoy freedom like any other nation. The time for dialogue has come,” the Iranian foreign minister said.

Iran to continue consultations with S. Arabia

Elsewhere in his remarks, Salehi commented on his meeting with his Saudi counterpart Minister Saud al-Faisal in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday and said, “The stances of Iran and Saudi Arabia are different on certain cases.”

“We discussed relations between the two countries and regional developments,” he said. “We agreed to be in contact constantly and emphasize the positive points of these relations.”

Iran will continue talks with Saudi Arabia and there are security agreements between the two countries which should be implemented, Salehi said.

The Iranian foreign minister visited Jeddah on Sunday and Monday at the invitation of his Saudi counterpart to attend a ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Contact Group on the crisis in Mali.

EP/PA