Ali Akbar Velayati met the visiting French delegation headed by Secretary General for Foreign Affairs Christian Masse on Monday and participated in a joint press conference.
Velayati hailed relations with France which he described as ‘historical and long-standing;’ “Iran’s official line of policy is to have good level of ties with EU especially France and they also are interested in extending ties with Iran, as could be understood of Mr. Secretary-General’s speeches,” he told the press conference.
“President Rouhani’s visit earlier in January strengthened the prospects of better ties with France. Iran and France have similar positions in significant regional issues including in Syria and Lebanon,” Velayati said, “however, reconstruction of relations is a timely process especially when some events out of the control of both sides stymied relations to a status quo ante when there was little diplomatic ties between the two countries.”
“Both sides emphasized on development of ties in different levels and areas of interest. We evaluate the discussions in positive light,” Velayati added.
Christian Masse for his part also dubbed the discussions as very ‘fruitful;' “we are now in a historic point in bilateral ties when the removal of sanctions should show its clear impact on bilateral trade and business; Mr. Rouhani’s visit to Paris would also have an impact accordingly. Time will bring to the surface the outcomes of political talks with Iran,” he told the press.
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