Iranian FM warns of Syria breakup

SAUDI ARABIA: Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi warned on Monday of the possibility of Syria breaking up and its conflict spilling across the Middle East unless a political solution can end the bloodshed. "God forbid, if there was a void, or disintegration, in Syria, this crisis would spill over into all countries in the region," said Salehi, whose country is a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Instead, the Assad regime and its opponents should seek a political solution by setting up a transitional government until elections, he told reporters in Jeddah.

He also rejected foreign intervention in Syria, which is in its third year of conflict after protests against the regime in 2011 morphed into an armed rebellion.

"The Syrian people should have self-determination... It is not permitted that decisions made abroad get to be imposed on an ancient country and people like Syria," he said.

Salehi on Sunday held talks with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Saud al-Faisal. He acknowledged he had "different views" with his host, whose kingdom supports the Syrian opposition.

The Syria conflict has claimed more than 80,000 lives, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based watchdog.

Expanding ties with neighbours, Iran's core policy

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has reiterated the country's fundamental policy of promoting cooperation with regional countries, particularly its neighbors.

Salehi made the remarks in a Sunday meeting with his Saudi counterpart Saud al-Faisal in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where both officials discussed bilateral ties and regional developments.

Continued contacts and consultations between officials in Tehran and Riyadh on various issues of mutual interest can pave the way for bilateral cooperation and help remove obstacles in the way of expanding ties, said the top Iranian diplomat.

Salehi added that cooperation between Iran and Saudi Arabia, as two influential countries in the region, serves the interests of other regional states as well as the two countries.

He said Tehran - Riyadh cooperation will also contribute to the security and stability of the strategic Persian Gulf region, adding that regional countries can ensure their security through collective cooperation.

Al-Faisal, for his part, described the Islamic Republic as a great country, adding that Iran and Saudi Arabia are two regional heavyweights. He further expressed his country's willingness for brotherly ties based upon common interests with Iran.

AFP, XINHUA