Mr. Claude Bartolone, President of the French National Assembly is in Tehran in a tour of Iran and was received by President Rouhani on Tuesday in a meeting to discuss bilateral ties, terrorism in the region and international efforts to fight extremism. Rouhani believed that only curbing support for terrorism would bring about their defeat and stability to the region.
France has been the target of terrorist attacks by ISIL sympathizers. Rouhani then turned to bilateral relations with France and evaluated the role of Parliamentary ties effective in securing national interests of both sides. “With signing JCPOA with world powers, new opportunities have been before us to exploit; Iran and France enjoy complementary capabilities,” Mr. Rouhani told the meeting. “We have been seeking to improve our cooperation with the world and to show that cooperation was possible, and that solving a problem was not the sole objective of Iran’s negotiators.”
Rouhani believed that the situation on the ground in Syria and Iraq was disturbing with infrastructure of especially Syria destroyed by clashes, and with millions of refugees, wider sway of terrorists in the country is not justified by any humanitarian principles, while all supporters of terrorists have been all too clear; “Syrian antiquities and Iraqi oil have been marketed which adds to the resources in the disposal of ISIL,” he criticized.
“We believe there is no military option available for the crisis in Syria, and thus have supported Syria and Iraq in their fight against terrorism; only political dialogue would serve stability in Syria,” Rouhani reiterated Iran’s highly principled position.
Mr. Claude Bartolone for his part expressed gratitude to Rouhani for the meeting and believed that both countries had provided historical attractions which promoted political ties; “Iranians have welcomed French art, literature, architecture, along with Iran’s dazzling art history has catapulted unofficial contacts during the history,” he told the meeting.
“French Parliament had been supporting nuclear talks with 5+1 and now we believe all sides should attend to full implementation of JCPOA; on trade and banking, we also encourage French banks to work with Iran in arranging for financial transactions in economic projects,” he told the meeting, thus addressing one of Iran’s major concerns in terms of restrictions which have still bitten the economy.
“Iran is a buttress of stability in the region and an influential regional power as well; we have developed unanimity in some of the issues and believe that close cooperation will provide valuable help in solving regional as well as international issues,” Bartolone concluded.
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