Tehran, Iran, Sept. 7
By Temkin Jafarov, Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran and Spain will discuss various grounds for political cooperation, Iran 's Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif said.
He made the remarks in a joint press conference with his visiting Spanish counterpart, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo on Sept. 7 in Tehran.
There are a wide-range of topics for political negotiations, Zarif said, adding Tehran and Madrid share topics which both sides agree on, as well as areas with disputes.
"We agreed to negotiate about human rights and the refugees issues."
The Iranian foreign minister further said that the two parties have discussed regional issues including crisis in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and the situation in Afghanistan.
"We also discussed fighting against terrorism," Zarif said, adding as a member of the UN security council Spain can play a constructive role in settling the Syria and Libya crises.
The Islamic Republic believes that the Syrian crisis has no military solution and should be settled via political dialogue, the Iranian FM said.
Only the Syrian people have the right to make a decision about the future of Syria 's President Bashar al-Assad, Zarif underlined.
Those who make statements against Assad from the outside of Syria and impose conditions for him, trigger the war inside the country, he added.
Foreign countries should stop intervening in Syria, and let the Syrian people decide their own fate, Zarif said.
He criticized "some foreign countries" for sacrificing the Syrian people for their short-term interests without disclosing any country name.
The Spanish FM, for his part, said that along with discussing the issue of boosting mutual relations, discussing the regional issues including the refugees' crisis is among his Tehran visit agenda.
Garcia-Margallo underlined that the refugees' issue has became an important regional and global problem, expressing hope that Tehran and Madrid would take steps on the issue.
The Spanish top diplomat underlined that the Syrian crisis should be settled in a peaceful way as soon as possible.
He further touched upon mutual ties, saying the Iranian and Spanish foreign ministry will sign a document on political cooperation. Tehran and Madrid will study all grounds for mutual cooperation, the Spanish top diplomat stressed.
Spain as the fourth economic power of the EU can be a good trade partner for Iran, Garcia-Margallo said, adding Tehran and Madrid can take big steps in the region via economic cooperation.
Spain used to import some 14 percent of its energy from Tehran in the pre-sanctions period, he said, emphasizing that his trip will open a new chapter for new round of cooperation.
He referred to energy, railroads and transportation sector as Spain's priorities in cooperation with Iran.
Edited by CN