Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Damascus, SANA – President Bashar al-Assad said on Thursday Syria welcomes the efforts and contacts made by Iran with the aim of solving the Syrian crisis.
The Syrian people trust the role Iran has always played in support of the people of the region and their just causes, added the President during a meeting with Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdullahian and the accompanying delegation.
The meeting discussed the scourge of terrorism and the threats posed by it to the Syrian people and the people of the region’s countries and the continued support provided to the terrorist organizations by the very states and forces that claim to be fighting them.
The ideas put forth in the regional and international arena to activate the political track to solve the crisis in Syria were also on the table.
Abdullahian said Iran is keen to help the Syrian people in their war against terrorism and to have them realize their interests and aspirations without any foreign interference.
Tehran, he added, will spare no effort that could help in re-establishing stability in Syria and contribute to combating terrorism on the regional and international levels.
To fulfill these goals, said Abdullahian, it is important that coordination and consultation with the Syrian government continues.
The meeting was attended by Presidential Political and Media Advisor Bouthaina Shaaban, Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Fayssal Mikdad, Director of Asia Department at the Foreign Ministry Faizah Iskandar and Iran’s Ambassador in Damascus Mohammad Reza Raouf Sheibani.
Abdullahian: Any successful plan for solving crisis should take into account Syrians’ central role in determining their future
Earlier in a joint press conference with Mikdad, Abdullahian said for any plan aimed at solving the crisis in Syria to be successful, it should take into consideration the central role of the Syrian people in determining their country’s future.
He noted that Iran highly appreciates the “central and pivotal role” of President Bashar al-Assad in preserving Syria’s national unity and combating terrorism and his wise leadership to secure that Syria gets out of the multiple crises that gripped it in the past few years.
President al-Assad, he added, should play an essential and pivotal role in any political solution, noting that Tehran and Moscow share firm position in support of Damascus.
Answering SANA reporter’s question on the Iranian-proposed ideas to solve the crisis in Syria, Abdullahian explained that Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif put forth during his latest visit to Syria a paper including Iran’s vision of the solution and preliminary ideas presented to President al- Assad, adding that the Syrian and Iranian sides agreed that these ideas be followed up on in a constructive and deep manner by the two countries’ foreign Ministers.
He added that President al-Assad and all the officials in Syria said they wanted to discuss the Iranian ideas to push them to reach the aspired results, calling upon the states concerned and the UN to look into these efforts to come to finding suitable solutions to the crisis.
Abdullahian pointed out that his meeting with President al-Assad today was “a chance to listen to his Excellency’s viewpoint and valuable thoughts about finding effective political solutions for the crisis,” noting that all these thoughts and “directions” will be taken into account in the mutual visions shared by Syria and Iran that are currently under discussion to find political exits out of the crisis.
He made it clear that he held in-depth and detailed discussions of all the items in the Iranian paper, adding that all these ideas are still subject to discussion, consultation and exchange of views and that when a final form is reached, there will be a set of commitments for all the parties concerned to implement.
About the plan of the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, Abdullahian said while the plan includes “good points”, still there are some Iranian criticisms which, he said, de Mistura had promised to take into consideration and make the necessary amendments.
Al-Mikdad, for his part, renewed a call upon the UN envoy to act objectively and neutrally when proposing any initiative to resolve the crisis.
Asked for Syria’s opinion about the recent ideas brought up by de Mistura, Mikdad explained that the there were a number of questions put by the Syrian officials to the envoy when these ideas were discussed during his deputy’s visit to Damascus.
“We are still waiting for answers, and once those inquiries are clarified and answers obtained, then we will decide our final position regarding [de Mistura’s ideas],” said Mikdad.
Mikdad affirmed that consultations on the Iranian ideas will continue, pointing out that Iran’s political, economic and social support to Syria is continuing to rise and it is in line with the nature of the challenges facing Syria.
English Bulletin
