Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 8
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran is ready to talk with world powers about the future of Syria, the Islamic Republic President Hassan Rouhani said.
He made the remarks in a joint press conference with his visiting Austrian counterpart Heinz Fischer in Tehran, while responding to a question about possible Tehran-Washington negotiation on the issue.
Iran is ready to take part in any negotiation if its outcome will be stability, security and democracy for Syria, Rouhani said, Iran's State IRINN TV reported Sept. 8.
"In this case, Tehran is ready to negotiate with any party including regional countries as well as the world powers."
The Islamic Republic's priorities regarding Syria are establishing relative security and stopping bloodshed in the country, Rouhani said.
"After that we can talk about the future of the country, opposition groups and democracy," he underlined.
The Syrian people only should construct the future of Syria Rouhani said, adding foreign powers cannot and should not make decisions about the future of Syria.
Only the Syrian people have the right to make a decision about the future of their government, he underlined.
The Syrian crisis has became a regional problem and all relevant parties should help the Syrian people to establish stability and democracy, the Iranian president noted.
Not only the Middle East region but entire world will benefit security in Syria, Rouhani added.
Iran is a close ally of the Syrian government and has always shown its support for the regime of President Bashar Assad. The Islamic Republic views the Syrian regime as its main strategic ally in the region and as part of an "axis of resistance" against Israel.
The Syrian opposition claims that Iranian military forces are fighting against them, while Iran dismisses the claims, saying that Iran only has advisors in Syria, to transfer its military experience to the Syrian army.
During the conflict in Syria, which began in March 2011, more than 150,000 people have been killed in the country and over 4.2 million have become refugees in Syrian territory and two million have fled to neighboring countries.
Edited by CN
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