Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani received President of the EU Parliament Martin Schulz in Tehran on Saturday morning and the two sides discussed important bilateral issues between Iran and the EU as well as regional issues.
Speaking at the joint press conference with the EP chief after the meeting, Ali Larijani said, “Iran and Europe enjoy a long history in various fields especially economic ones which make expansion of ties possible after the talks with the 5+1."
“Furthermore, various regional areas demand cooperation on the part of the two sides,” noted Larijabi adding that, “good talks have been conducted on development of cooperation particularly on regional issues like terrorism as well as the current crises.”
He deemed the Europe’s role in resolving these important issues as vital and added, “the European Parliament holds a good position being able to make decisions for the EU.”
“Mr. Schulz, as a prominent politician, can closely examine issues with Iran,” stressed Parliament speaker expressing hope that the EP chief’s short visit to Iran will bring about great achievements for Iran and Europe.
In response to a question on the prospects of Iran’s plan to support the position of Bashar al-Assad, Larijani stated, “the issue of Syria is not limited to one individual, rather a plan needs to be created to create a region free of all terrorist activities; therefore, reducing the region’s problems to one individual person would mark a strategic mistake.”
“The Syrian issue was the starting point for the chaos in the region and terrorism continues to grow causing trouble for the people of Syria, Iraq, Yemen and other areas,” underlined the Parliament speaker.
He further reiterated that, “Iran’s insist on providing long-lasting order in Syria aims to fight the destructive course which has even been felt by Europe as thousands from Europe and the United States have joined ISIL forces leading to a dilemma.”
“We propose a democratic system in Syria and Yemen which covers serious fight against terrorism as well as structural reform by people’s vote rather than letting foreigners make decision for their fate,” maintained the official adding that, “other countries can facilitate the process but should never replace the Syrian nation."
President of the EU Parliament Martin Schulz arrived in Tehran for a one-day visit to promote talks between Iran and the European Union. He is also scheduled to meet Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and after paying a visit to the National Museum of Iran, he will also meet Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani at 16:30 in Tehran’s local time.
The European official will also meet with the Secretary of High Council for Human Rights Mohammad Javad Larijani and will attend a dinner ceremony hosted by Iran’s Parliament speaker before leaving Tehran on Sunday morning.
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