Speaking at a meeting with the visiting Speaker of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina Safet Softić, Chairman of World Forum for Islamic Awakening (WFIA) Ali Akbar Velayati said the Iranian nation was fond of Bosnians noting that commute of both sides’ officials would help elevate friendly relations between Tehran and Sarajevo.
“Iran and Bosnia enjoy age-old ties and Iranian people stood up for the government and nation of Bosnia during critical periods.”
The official pointed to presidency of Alija Izetbegović, ex-president of the European country, adding “good cooperation was formed between the two countries and the path continued though serious effort is needed to bolster bilateral collaboration.”
He underscored that countries who supported massacre of Bosnians must be ashamed of their deeds since Europeans could have prevented the slaughter.
“Iran has spared no effort to assist Bosnia and Herzegovina in attaining independence,” he continued.
He recalled his two-time visit to the European country during the Bosnian war quoting Izetbegović who said his country would not have achieved independence in the absence of Iran.
Head of Strategic Research Center Velayati also deemed the current visit to Tehran of the Bosnian delegation symbolic of their serious determination to reinvigorate relations between the two states.
Later in his remarks, the official touched upon US' military presence in Europe stating that majority of American offensive weapons are located in Eastern and Central Europe, an unfavorable issue which makes peace difficult to achieve.
Bosnia’s Softić, for his part, evaluated the recent visit of his country’s president to Iran as sign of brotherly relation between the two sides.
Referring to the as yet complicated issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the visiting official said his country’s economy had been reconstructed over the past two decades and traces of war were eliminated to some extent as well as that efforts were made to resume international ties which were previously weakened.
“We face political turbulences every now and then especially in propinquity of national elections,” underlined Softić.
He further exalted Iran’s stability amid a crisis-stricken region stressing that Iran was one of the main pillars in the fight against terrorism.
The official also recalled Iran’s nuclear deal with the 5+1 group of countries evaluating the agreement as a considerable achievement for the whole world.
In closing, Bosnian speaker expressed hope that the two countries will exchange views and bolster ties in various fields.
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