Tehran, Iran, November 16
By Temkin Jafarov, Mehdi Sepahvand -- Trend:
A former Iranian diplomat has said that Saudi Arabia has no choice but to accept a common will among those engaged in negotiations on Syria to end the prevalence of terrorism and establish a government in the Arab country.
Saudi Arabia cannot persuade others to adopt its viewpoint at a time when the negotiating sides are saying even the Bashar Assad government is better than a terrorist government or anarchy, Ali Khoram told Trend November 16.
About 20 countries gathered in Vienna, Switzerland on November 15 to continue their talks aimed at finding a political solution to the Syrian crisis.
The attending sides were the US, UK, Russia, Iran, Turkey, China, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Lebanon, Jordan, France, Italy, Germany as well as the European Union, and the United Nations.
Even such countries as the US, France, Germany, and the UK maintain that their priority is to end terrorism in Syria and it is Saudi Arabia which has to say yes to the choice of the world, Khorram stated.
It seems like Iran is also supporting the idea of a government for Syria, the expert noted.
He said that in the last round of Vienna II talks, the sides admitted the necessity to end terrorism in Syria especially under the shadow of recent terrorist attacks in Syria.
The Syrian government has been engaged in war with armed groups, most of which are internationally recognized as terrorist groups, since 2011.
Saudi Arabia is part of a US-led coalition that has carried out numerous air strikes against the groups since late 2014.
Russia has also been pounding terrorist positions since late September this year.
However, Iran has refrained from admitting in-field engagement in Syria. Tehran says it is providing Assad with military consultation to ward off the terrorists. Iran is also one of the sides calling for election in Syria to establish a new government.