Ali Akbar Velayati who was talking to the press after a meeting with Fernando José Marroni de Abreu Brazil’s Undersecretary General for Africa and the Middle East on Wednesday roundly rejected the contribution of other countries in liberation of Mosul; “Iraqi army is the sole power to singly lead the operation in Mosul and no other country is eligible to participate,” he told the press.
“With Mr. Abreu, we shared the view that peace was a necessity for the region; the 6-year Syrian resistance against terrorism by government and people is laudable; no military solution is thinkable under current conditions for Syrian crisis; we also believe support for Iraqi government in its struggle with ISIL in Mosul and equally important Syrian government initiative in Aleppo is essential, to which Iran and Brazil would contribute indirectly through other means than military,” Velayati said.
Velayati hailed close cooperation between Iran and Brazil in important international issues; Lausanne round of Syrian talks should bring all parties engaged in Syria, where both supporters of terrorism and of Assad should sit in a table to address greater issues; the talks should also recognize the legitimate battle Syrian government had fought in defending its territorial integrity, “which we believe will be great achievement even on paper.”
Velayati highlighted a quadrilateral contribution of Iran, Russia, Iraq, and Egypt (among participants in Lausanne) which he believed was sufficient in conference to have an upper-hand in negotiations. “However, the conference brought about no concrete result, and responsibility solely remains with the international organizations to find definitive solution and action against supporters of terrorism in Syria,” he added.
He deemed Huffington Post speculation that Iranian boots would advance on the grounds, with T-72 armored machines in Mosul, along with Shahab, Fajr, and other weapons as inaccurate claims; “what happens in Mosul is a fight to which only Iraqi government and army is a side, and no foreign country should contribute. The Islamic Republic of Iran would never participate with boots, however had provided Iraqi government with military advisers,” he told the press.
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