Ali Akbar Velayati who was talking to the press after meeting with German State Secretary Markus Ederer on Tuesday, criticized division of terrorists to good and bad terrorists; “both Iran and Germany support solution of crises in the Middle East; the Islamic Republic of Iran rejects the division on the grounds that it will wreck devastation on the region and a Libya effect would be highly likely, since there is no firm control over the developments in Syria,” Mr. Velayati told reporters.
Velayati then turned to bilateral relations with Germany which he believed enjoyed more favorable relations with Iran than any other EU country; “we have good relations during long diplomatic ties and there is a common will to improve relations further. In the meeting, we discussed bilateral as well as regional developments especially in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen; we believe economic exchanges between Tehran and Berlin will produce good outcomes in the long term,” he told the press. “Both countries believe that in Syria the government should be encouraged to sit in a negotiation table with parts of the opposition fighters who had not embarked on armed conflict to bring a concrete change in the political arena.”
Veayati rejected media speculations that Russia had wavered in its support for Syrian government recently; “I have not noticed any wavering in Moscow’s positon of backing Assad during my frequent visits to the country; for Iran as well, Bashar al-Assad is a redline,” said the head of Strategic Research Center. “Mr. Bashar al-Assad has been democratically elected to presidency, a position he should remain incumbent for 7 years as the public demanded during the elections.”
“No other country should decide about the political future of Assad as well as his future role in the country. The issue should be a matter of Syrian people to think about and decide whether Assad should rule or must go,” Velayati concluded.
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