Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the Syrian army's breaking of a years-long siege by Daesh Takfiri group of the eastern city of Dayr al-Zawr is an "important victory" against extremist and terrorist groups.
Zarif made the remarks in an interview with Lebanon-based Arabic-language al-Mayadeen news network published on Tuesday.
He once again voiced his objection to the settlement of the Syrian crisis through merely military approaches, saying, “The people and resistance are achieving victory in Syria and we will grow farther from a military solution with the defeat of Daesh.”
Zarif also reiterated that the fate of the Syrians is in their own hands. “We should not dictate to the Syrian people what they should do. We have resisted against extremism and we must facilitate from now on the path of dialogue among different popular groups in Syria,” the Iranian foreign minister added.
Since the outset of the Syrian crisis, Iran has sought to help the Arab country’s people fight against extremism through political channels, he said.
Zarif pointed to a new round of Syria peace talks in the Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana and described the initiative as the “most successful diplomatic move” adopted after the beginning of the Syrian crisis.
“Now, all involved countries should cooperate to bring peace and stability in Syria and bring all parties to the negotiation table and move in a single political path,” he said
“We are ready to work with all Islamic countries, including Saudi Arabia, to help resolve Muslims’ problems in the Middle East region and the world” Zarif added.
“Saudi Arabia is an important Islamic country and therefore, we are prepared to work with the country to address the problem of Islamic countries,” he noted.
The Iranian top diplomat further emphasized that Tehran is also ready to cooperate with Riyadh to help end regional crises, including the Syrian conflicts, crackdown in Bahrain and the “irrational and costly” war on Yemen.
“Saudi authorities ought to come to the conclusion that not only for Saudi Arabia, but also for all other countries in the Persian Gulf region, there is no other option than joint cooperation,” he went on to say.
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