UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan stressed on Tuesday that Iran must play a part in working out a solution to Syria’s crisis
UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan stressed on Tuesday that Iran must play a part in working out a solution to Syria’s crisis.
In a joint press conference with Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, Annan said that his presen
ce in Tehran “proves that I believe Iran can play a positive role and should therefore be a part of the solution in the Syrian crisis.”
The primary aim in Syria should be containing the violence, Annan said, "collecting arms which are in the wrong hands" and putting a swift end to further militarization of the crisis.
The envoy declined to give further details about his talks with President Bashar Assad on Monday, which he said afterwards had been candid and constructive. “The violence should stop in order to enable talks to begin between the conflicting sides”, he said.
For his part, Salehi advised the regional countries to exercise prudence over the Syrian crisis and warned against the ‘catastrophic’ upshots of a ‘wrong’ decision on Syria.
“We should not allow the situation to become worse, which would not be to anyone’s benefit.”
The Iranian foreign minister also said that Tehran's stance on Syria is clear, and lauded Assad’s steps towards implementing reforms in Syria and meeting people’s legitimate demands, indicating that the Syrian president’s efforts were undermined by the foreign interference that has led to an escalation of the country’s situation.
