Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 2
By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:
Senior Iranian negotiator Hossein Amir Abdollahian criticized Saudi Arabia's approach in dealing with the ongoing Syrian crisis, making his remarks during the Vienna talks held on Oct 30, when he noted that Riyadh did not back democratic solutions.
"The main problem during the negotiation was that Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir did not back democratic solutions for Syria. He was insisting that the meeting should decide the fate of Syria's legitimate President Bashar al-Assad, instead of the Syrian people," Fars news agency quoted Amir Abdollahian, the Iranian deputy foreign minister for African and Arab Affairs.
Regarding the Saudi foreign minister's remarks suggesting that Iranian fighters should leave Syria, Amir Abdollahian said that Iran does not have fighters in Syria, as Tehran has only sent military advisers to Syria at the request of Damascus in order to contribute to the fight against terrorism.
"It is not Saudi Arabia and other countries' business how the Islamic Republic of Iran acts regarding the fight against terrorism in Syria," he added.
He further elaborated on Iran's view regarding political solutions to end the Syrian crisis and said Iran supports talks between Damascus and opposition groups, as well as supports the adoption of a new constitution.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran will attend talks that are fruitful and will contribute to resolving the Syrian crisis through political solutions," Abdollahian said in response to a question as to whether Iran is planning to attend the next round of talks.
Also, criticizing the US-led coalition to fight terrorism, he denied that Tehran and Washington have plans to conduct direct talks regarding regional issues.
The Vienna talks held in late October involved Iran, a key Assad ally, for the first time, but failed to reach agreement, particularly on the fate of Bashar al-Assad. However, allies and opponents of al-Assad agreed to renew efforts to end the crisis.