Off the wire
• 1st Ld: CPC targets transparency to woo foreign investors  • Urgent: Forest fire kills 4 more in Indonesia  • Cambodia marks 11th anniversary of King's coronation  • Philippines urges public to observe balanced diet  • 1st LD-Writethru: Innovation put at core of China's five-year plan  • Domestic advance voting starts in Myanmar for general election  • Australia not to join U.S. operation in South China Sea: FM  • 1st LD-Writethru: CPC vows less government price intervention  • 1st LD Writethru: Britain likely to publish Iraq Inquiry in June or July next year  • 11 dead, over 40 missing as refugee boats sink in Aegean  
You are here: 　 Home

Iran says won't accept pressures for Assad's ouster

Xinhua, October 29, 2015 Adjust font size:

Iran said Thursday that it will not accept pressures for the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad under the pretext of solving the Syria crisis.

The statement, made by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, came as Tehran prepares to attend international talks on the future of Syria scheduled for Friday in Vienna.

"No change has taken place in Iran's stance pertaining to its support to Syria," Amir-Abdollahian told state IRIB TV. "Tehran has always backed the campaign against terrorism and the political process (to settle the conflicts) in Syria."

"Those who are seeking the departure of Mr. Assad know well that only the Syrian people will decide their fate within the framework of a political process," he added.

On Wednesday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken told French radio RTL that in the upcoming talks Assad's ouster is not a prerequisite, "but the process that will be triggered must lead to Assad's departure."

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif will take part in the Vienna talks.

Tehran has emerged as a staunch regional ally of the Assad government in Syria's long-lasting conflict.

Washington, which saw Iran as "part of the problem" in the Syria crisis and had advocated excluding Tehran in political talks on Syria, has since agreed to include Tehran in the process.

Iran has rejected the U.S. claims of it being part of the problem in Syria, accusing Washington of supporting terrorist groups in the Arab state. Endit