Ayatollah Khamenei received Swiss President Johann Schneider-Amman on Saturday evening. Mr. Schneider-Amman is visiting Tehran heading a high-ranking delegation to Iran.
Ayatollah Khamenei believed that Switzerland, thanks to its policy of neutrality, “systematically had avoided supports and tacit agreement to sanctions and hostile behavior toward Iran, which distinguished it from other European countries whose interests lie solely in warmongering and fueling tension; our nation has however the dark memory of European countries’ conduct in the past when they supported Iran’s rival Saddam Hussein during the Imposed War and armed the Baathist party during the war; from this point of view, Iran’s nation has a great memory of the country and we have seen your country historically as a center of peace and stability,” said the Leader, extending his full support along with government’s backing to bilateral agreements which the Leader believed should be translated into concrete actions in terms of implementation. Ayatollah Khamenei also objected that the level of bilateral trade was low and suffered the lack of balance.
Johann Schneider-Amman for his part, expressed gratitude for his visit to Iran and highlighted the record of friendship with Iran; “this is an honor for us to see that the country walks gradually in the road to progress; our delegation consisting of science and economic moguls discussed with the Iranian officials a roadmap of relations and the ways to diversify Swiss-Iranian cooperation fields. The agreement would transform the level of relations forever,” he asserted. “The scope of conflict and challenges has now embraced Switzerland and the EU as well; a global cooperation is required to effectively address and resolve the current large-scale crises,” concluded the Swiss president.
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