No Foreign Power Can Decide for Syria: Iran’s President
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday rejected any foreign interference in the domestic affairs of Syria, reiterating that the Arab country’s nation should decide their own fate.
“The future of Syria will be built by the votes of the country’s nation, and it is the (Syrian) people who will decide about their government, future, and the conduct of their statesmen,” Rouhani said in a joint press conference with his Austrian counterpart Heinz Fischer in Tehran.
“No foreign country and power should, and can, decide on the future of this country (Syria),” the Iranian president emphasized.
He went on to say that all countries should help restore security and stability to war-hit Syria and prepare the grounds for the establishment of democracy in the Arab state.
Iran would take part in any negotiation whose outcome is Syria’s security, stability, and independence, and realization of the Syrian nation’s rights, Rouhani stressed, adding that all regional and influential countries, including EU member states, should make efforts in this regard.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran considers as its big international, regional, humanitarian, and Islamic duty to take any necessary step for preventing the slaughter and displacement of helpless people as well as countering terrorism and repelling terrorists,” he added.
Syria has been gripped with civil war since March 2011. According to the United Nations, more than 220,000 people have been killed and one million wounded during the conflict.
In the meantime, Iran has remained a close ally of Syria and supports its legitimate government in the face of foreign-backed militancy.
Tehran insists that the Syrian nation is the only side that has the right to shape the future of its own country, rejecting foreign intervention with the use of force.
