Some parties see continuation of Syria war as beneficial to interests: Iran official

An Iranian deputy foreign minister says some parties in the Syrian conflict see the continuation of the military approach in Syria as beneficial to their political interests.

Hossein Jaberi Ansari, the Iranian deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs, made the remark in a meeting with the United Nations (UN)’s Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura in the Swiss city of Geneva on Friday.

Jaberi Ansari stressed a political resolution of the conflict in Syria, instead.

He said a correct understanding of the problem and consensus among the influential players in Syria on general issues were necessary preludes to the political resolution of the conflict.

Commenting on the collapse of a ceasefire brokered by Russia and the US in Syria, he said that a central provision of the agreement was to separate armed groups from al-Nusra Front terrorists. 

“That did not happen in practice; to the contrary, we witnessed armed groups uniting together and joining with al-Nusra,” Jaberi Ansari said.

The Iranian diplomat further pointed to the humanitarian, security and political aspects of the crisis in Syria, saying, “The humanitarian issue remains the most urgent dimension of the crisis, and serious attention is necessary to find a solution to contain a humanitarian disaster.”

De Mistura, for his part, referred to Iran’s “pivotal role” in the Middle East region and described the Islamic Republic as an “important and influential” country in attempts to help resolve the Syrian crisis.

He said the UN had a clear definition of terrorism, and recognized Daesh, al-Nusra and other al-Qaeda-linked groups as terrorist groups as per UN Security Council resolutions.

Separately on Friday, the Iranian deputy foreign minister met with Manuel Bessler, the head of the Humanitarian Aid Department and the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit, in Geneva.

During the meeting with Bessler, Jaberi Ansari made a reference to the humanitarian aspects of the ongoing crises in the Middle East and emphasized that efforts to resolve the Syrian conflict would not have definitive results if political concerns and fighting terrorism were not taken into consideration.

Jaberi Ansari stressed the importance of measures to avert a humanitarian crisis in Syria, calling for continued cooperation between Iran and Switzerland to help alleviate the miseries of the Syrian people.

He also pointed to the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Yemen, urging Switzerland to facilitate humanitarian aid to Yemenis.

Bessler, for his part, voiced his country’s readiness to bolster cooperation with Iran and facilitate humanitarian assistance to Syria.

He added that Switzerland attaches paramount importance to Yemen, expressing regret over the bombardment of hospitals, schools and civilian regions in the Arabian Peninsula country.

Saudi Arabia has been bombarding Yemen since March 2015.

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