Roundup: Iran urges political solution to Syrian crisis: FM

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif on Wednesday urged political and diplomatic efforts as the "only means to solve the Syrian crisis."

The resistance of the Syrian people against terrorism has paved the way for eliminating the threats against the country, which requires stepping up diplomatic efforts to settle the ongoing conflicts, Zarif said in a meeting with visiting Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al Moualem.

The "responsible" role that the regional countries can play will also be instrumental for uprooting the causes of instability and threats by terrorism in the region, he said.

"Fighting extremism and terrorism will benefit everybody. All the regional states should ascribe importance to the collective regional interests rather than narrow self-interests," the top Iranian diplomat said.

"Iran's clear and principled stance is to support the resistance" against Israel who has benefited much from the threats of terrorism in Syria, he added.

For his part, al Moualem hailed the recent nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers and pointed out to the global support for the deal as a sign of the Iranian leadership's "wisdom."

Iran and Syria enjoy "strong and unshatterable strategic" ties, he said.

The stability and peace in Syria is within reach, provided that some powers show "real" motive in confronting terrorism and extremism, he added.

In the day, Moualem also said that diplomatic efforts are highly important to help Syria solve the crisis in the country.

Syria has ever been ready to talk with those opposition groups who do not resort to armed struggle against the Syrian government and are interested in the integrity of the country, Moualem said in a meeting with Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani.

Sustained stability and security in Syria requires a shift in some countries' terrorist-supporting policies over the past years, he said.

In the meeting, Shamkhani also stressed the political mechanisms to settle crisis in the Arab state, saying that the national dialogue is the only means to this end.

The terrorism of the Islamic State (IS) is a global threat and those states that have supported this group should be held accountable for the massacre of innocent people by this group, he said.

"Any attempt for foreign military intervention in Syria is unacceptable and it will weaken the legal institutions in the country and help the growth of terrorism and insecurity," he added.

The recent diplomatic efforts to settle Iran's nuclear issue can also inspire the political attempts to solve regional issues, Shamkhani stressed.

Moualem arrived in Tehran on Tuesday to attend trilateral talks with Iranian officials and Russian President Vladimir Putin's visiting special envoy Mikhail Bogdanov.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Tuesday that his country would continue consultations with the regional countries to find a "democratic approach" to the crisis in Syria.

"Any initiative (to resolve the Syrian crisis) should be implemented in coordination with the Syrian authorities," Moualem said in the meeting with Amir-Abdollahian on Tuesday, referring to the U.S.-led operations in Syria to fight the IS militants.

Iran is the staunchest regional ally to the Syrian government throughout the four-year Syrian conflict, where different opposition factions, including IS, seek to overthrow the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Endit