Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif conferred with his Algerian counterpart Abdelkader Messahel on various bilateral and regional issues in a meeting held on Sunday in Algiers.
During the meeting, the Algerian top diplomat noted the ever present disputes in the Arab world, with Syrian crisis as one such example, adding “if all countries respected sovereignty of nations and governments as well as the rule of law and the will of the people, this situation would have never happened.”
He went on to add, “foreign intervention in Libya, Yemen and Syria has hindered the process of settling issues in the region.”
He expressed hope that political talks would soon commence between disputing countries in the Arab and Muslim world, adding “I hope talks would also yield results in the case of the recent conflict among the Persian Gulf states.”
Iranian foreign minister, for his part, agreed with Mr. Messahel that terrorism was the main issue of the region and ‘democracy’ was its only solution; “of course, democracy needs to form from inside the countries. Everyone’s priority must be set on fighting extremism,” Zarif added.
He went on to stress, “we all must help to achieve a solution not to impose one. We cannot define a solution for people of other countries.”
Zarif maintained that foreign intervention was the reason for the prolonged crisis in regional countries, adding “only extremists and Zionist benefit from the complicated situation in the region. Iran will not fall into their traps and Zionists will fail to reap benefits from this.”
Zarif further noted the current dispute among Persian Gulf states, adding “we are concerned about escalation of tension between Qatar and its neighbors. We believe that talks are the best way to settle differences and are ready to help facilitate this process.”
MS