‘Iranians will stand by Syria as long Russia stands by it as well’ – Ahmadinejad

During the second day of his visit to Moscow on Tuesday the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with Vladimir Putin tete-a-tete. Ahmadinejad will remain the acting president of Iran only until August when the inauguration of Hassan Rowhani will take place, however, even then Ahmadinejad will still have a significant share of power within the Iranian political system. Prior to his visit to the Kremlin the Iranian president met with Elena Suponina, the political observer at the Voice of Russia and the head of the Center for Asia and the Middle East at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies.

The Voice of Russia is publishing exclusive extracts from Ms Suponina’s conversation with the Iranian president.

Mister President, what is your opinion of the events in Syria? Today it is one of the most important international issues. We would like to know how far Iran is prepared to go in defending its position on Syria.

Let me point out three issues regarding Syria, which is indeed a very important problem. First of all, all nations have a right to be respected. Nations should choose their leaders themselves. A mutual understanding in any country is reached in the course of free elections. Governments that come to power with the help of foreign states are short-lived. So, our position regarding Syria is that we are for the national truce and for independent national elections.

The second issue is related to the strategy of the Western countries and their real goals which evolve from the so-called “New Middle East” plans. One has to realize that the West is working to fulfill those plans.

The third issue is what is going on now in reality. At the moment, the Western countries do not want a peaceful resolution in Syria since such an unstable situation is beneficial for them. They want to destabilize not only Syria, but also Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Turkey. A few years ago I said that there would be tensions in Turkey. The West does not want strong states in the Middle East.

They want Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, as well as other states in the region to be in the state of instability. Another goal they have is to create large markets for their economies. Thus, their goal is to divide the nations of the Middle East and, essentially, to control this region. As far as your second question goes, we, the Iranians, will stand by Syria as long as Russia stands by it.

Mr. Ahmadinejad, I have another question for you, which is related to the Iranian nuclear program. Its resolution would positively affect the relations between Russia and Iran, as well as the situation around Iran in general. There has been already some progress in the negotiations on that issue. In addition, your successor, president Hassan Rouhani at some point was in charge of that issue. One cannot exclude that the new round of six-lateral talks will take place before the September meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency. What are the prospects here in your opinion?

We are grateful to the government of the Russian Federation for its constructive position on that issue. The way-out from that situation can be found via dialogue and negotiations. We do not trust the Western countries, and perhaps they do not trust us.

There have already been moments when the issue could have been resolved. Unfortunately, neither side used that opportunity because of a more serious problem with the Iranian nuclear program. There is a historic standoff between the West and Iran. The West has the same attitude towards other independent states. For over 100 years the British and the Americans ruled in Iran. That is why they don’t like Iran’s independence. This problem of the Western hostility towards Iran is in reality more important. This is the problem that needs immediate resolution. At the same time, one must clearly understand that we will preserve our independence.

And how can this problem be resolved?

We are aiming to create a world where interests and opportunities of all countries are taken into account. The world order that has been in existence for 400 years does not reflect people’s requirements. But let me point out that any change of the existing world order has to begin with people. Some see their happiness in defeating the enemy. Some find their prosperity in the poverty of other people. This is the consciousness of slaves and slave owners. Many of today’s difficulties stem from that.

The issue is not to form new blocks and alliances. The humanity can’t be improved that way. The very basis of our mentality has to be changed. In that case political blocks will be formed properly. One must rely on spirituality and humanity. A person needs relate to the open skies. This is what we have in common with Russia. Russia and Iran are allies and strategic partners.

In this respect, one can make the following comparison. We are all on one train. And the imperialists don’t want us to run that train or to take certain seats on it. But we didn’t follow their orders. We threw the switch and now the train is running in the direction where we are dreaming to get. Our goal is to establish justice in the entire world. The nuclear issue was solved for us four years ago when we started working on those technologies more actively. And nobody can force us to give up that path. They need to accept the nuclear Iran. Let me stress though that our nuclear program is peaceful.

Compiled by:

M.D