Berri stressed on Tuesday that “the importance of the Iranian-Saudi reconciliation and its reflection on the current situation in the region as it would not only result in breakthroughs in the Syrian crisis but in Lebanon and Iraq as well.”
According to Lebanese newspaper Daily Star, the meeting came on the sidelines of the 129th Assembly of the International Parliamentary Union which kicked off Monday.
Berri had said in August that the only viable option for a solution to the Lebanese political crisis and the region was a Saudi-Iranian initiative.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to Saudi Arabia early this month was delayed, but Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Ruknabadi sought to play it down and predicted a thaw in Saudi-Iranian ties.
According to the National News Agency, Berri and Larijani discussed regional and international developments as well as bilateral relations.
Berri said the meeting covered all issues relating to the region, and that Iran was a major player on the regional and international level, especially with regard to Syria and Lebanon.
“Parliamentary diplomacy between the Lebanese Parliament and the Iranian Shura Council is an extremely important issue for the convergence of views in the region, which benefits Lebanon and the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said.
Berri said he was looking forward to a political solution in Syria that would offer a comprehensive plan that might also pave the way for such resolutions in other part of the region.
Berri called the meeting with Larijani “normal” and said he hoped to have a similar one during the Iranian official’s prospective visit to Beirut.
Larijani said although Lebanon was small in size, it was respected for its resistance against Israel and its people.
“With this in mind, we always bet on Lebanon during regional developments, and we always stand by our brothers in Lebanon, and surely we will do the best that we can to help Lebanon in that regard,” he said.
He also said there needed to be a political solution to the crisis in Syria, and that the international community thought the same.
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