‘Syria conference aimed at political solution’

‘Syria conference aimed at political solution’
Tue May 21, 2013 17:02:01

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyyed Abbas Araqchi says the upcoming meeting of the Friends of Syria, due to be held in Tehran, is aimed at finding a political solution to the ongoing conflict in Syria.

“The meeting is an effort by the Islamic Republic of Iran to help [find] political solutions to the Syrian crisis,” Araqchi said during his weekly press conference on Tuesday.

 

He said that the meeting will be held with the slogan of “Political solution - regional stability” on May 29 and a number of countries have been invited to attend the meeting.

 

The Iranian official reiterated Iran’s opposition to any military intervention in Syria, voicing the Islamic Republic’s support for national dialogue between the Syrian government and the opposition in order to settle the crisis in the Arab country.

 

Syria has been gripped by unrest for over two years, and many people, including large numbers of Syrian soldiers and security personnel, have been killed in the foreign-sponsored militancy.

 

Araqchi further condemned the recent wave of deadly terrorist attacks across Iraq, warning that the enemies of the Muslim world are seeking to cause ethnic and sectarian strife between Shia and Sunni Muslims.

 

Also, referring to the latest talks between Iran and the IAEA, Araqchi said Tehran does not consider negotiations a failure.

 

Iran and the IAEA held their latest round of negotiations in the Austrian capital of Vienna on May 15.

 

“Talks between Iran and the IAEA have not reached any conclusions so far, but we hope that they would yield results in next rounds, nevertheless we do not consider them a failure,” the Iranian official added.

 

Commenting on the meeting between Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili and the European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in the Turkish city of Istanbul on May 15, Araqchi said, “Both sides said talks have been fruitful and the date of the next round of negotiations will be determined during future talks.”

 

“If the P5+1 (Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany) prefer to continue talks after the [presidential] election that is their choice, because the fundamental stances of our country will not change before or after the election,” Araqchi said.

 

Iran and the P5+1 have held several rounds of talks, mainly over the Iranian nuclear energy program. The latest rounds of negotiations between the two sides were held in the Kazakh city of Almaty on April 5-6 and February 26-27.

 

The United States, Israel, and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.

 

Tehran rejects the allegation over its nuclear energy activities, maintaining that as a committed signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the IAEA, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

Category:
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