Ban Ki-moon Stresses Iran’s Vital Role in Settlement of Crisis in Syria

TEHRAN -UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif underscored Tehran’s decisive role in the settlement of the crisis in Syria,according to FNA.

During the meeting in New York, the UN chief said that Iran could play an important role in resolving the crisis in Syria.

Ban stressed the need for Tehran’s presence in any international talks on Syria.

He also called for further cooperation between Iran and the UN in various regional issues.

Zarif, for his part, pointed to Iran’s efforts to settle the crisis in Syria through peaceful means, and reiterated Tehran’s readiness to continue efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Syria.

Pointing to the issue of dismantling the chemical weapons in Syria, Zarif stressed the need for disarming all belligerent parties from chemical weapons in that country.

Iranian officials have repeatedly underlined that Tehran is in favor of negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition groups to create stability in the Middle Eastern country.

Last November, Iran hosted a meeting between the representatives of the Syrian government and “opposition” to encourage them to start talks to find a political solution to their problems. The National Dialogue Conference kicked off work in Tehran mid-November with the motto of ‘No to Violence, Yes to Democracy”.

While in New York last month, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani once again underlined that Tehran is ready to take part in the planned Geneva II conference on the crisis in Syria “without any preconditions”.

 “If invited without any preconditions, Iran will participate in the Geneva II conference in order to help resolve the crisis in Syria,” President Rouhani said in a meeting with UN Special Envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi in New York.

R.S