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Iranian initiative to solve the Syrian issue

August 5, 2015 at 10:53 am

An Iranian initiative to solve the crisis in Syria has been published by the semi-official Fars news agency, Arabi21 has reported. Fars is close to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps. The initiative, it is claimed, has been discussed with Turkey, Qatar, Egypt and members of the UN Security Council, apart from Saudi Arabia.

The first article of the initiative is an immediate ceasefire, to be followed by the formation of a national unity government. The Syrian Constitution, it is suggested, would be rewritten in such a way as to reassure the different ethnic groups in Syria; elections would be monitored closely by the international community.

“Iran insists that any alliance against ISIS [Daesh] must plan to help the Iraqi and Syrian governments and that must be under UN supervision,” said a senior Iranian official. To achieve this goal, he said, money and weapons offered by the different parties to all fighters in the region must stop. He noted that the major world powers had committed “strategic mistakes” in their anti-terror war since 9/11.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, affirmed that his government is exerting all possible diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in Syria and to repair relations with its neighbours, including Saudi Arabia.

In an interview with Al-Alam TV on Monday, Abdollahian expressed optimism over finding a political solution for the crisis in Syria, pointing out that a strategic shift in the region has already taken place. He claimed that a number of the concerned parties believe that a political solution is the best option for resolving the crisis.

“Tehran and Moscow share the same view about the political future in Syria in a way that guarantees citizens’ rights,” said the deputy minister. He added that there are common points between Iranian and Russian proposals on the means to resolve the issue.

Abdollahian also stressed that the Iranian initiative was issued by Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. “This is the best and the most real and serious proposal,” he insisted.