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Iran FM urges talks on Yemen

Xinhua, March 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

Iran calls for cooperation among countries in the region to promote dialogues, and to bring peace to Yemen, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif said on Friday.

Iran is fully ready to cooperate with other countries in the Middle East to facilitate dialog among regional stakeholders and conflicting Yemeni sections to restore peace in the Arab country, Zarif said, responding to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's allegation on Iran's intervention in Yemen.

"Those who have caused damage to the region with their ambitions and mistakes should adopt responsible policies and use their capacities for establishing peace and convergence in the region," Zarif was quoted by official IRNA news agency as saying.

Declaring Turkey's support on the Saudi-led airstrike in Yemen on Thursday, Erdogan accused Iran of intervening in Yemen and trying to dominate the region.

"In fact, Iran is trying to dominate the region. How can anyone allow this?" Erdogan said, urging Iran to suspend intervention in Yemen, Syria and Iraq.

The Iranian foreign minister, who is currently in Switzerland for talks on Iran's controversial nuclear issue, urged the political parties involved in the Yemeni conflict to return to the negotiation table to settle their differences.

Yemen was hit by a wave of internal violence since the Shiite Houthi rebels ousted Yemeni President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi in February and forced him to flee the capital Sanaa to the southern seaside city of Aden.

A Saudi-led military coalition launched airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen earlier Thursday, a day after Yemeni Foreign Minister Riyadh Yassin called for an Arab military interference during his meetings with his Arab counterparts in the Egyptian Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh ahead of an Arab summit. Endit