FM Spokesman: Differences Over Syria Should Not Harm Iranˈs Ties With Regional Countries

Tehran, March 17, IRNA – The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Saturday that differences between Iran and certain regional countries over Syria should not harm bilateral relations. In an exclusive interview with IRNA, Ramin Mehmanparast said expansion of relations with regional countries, particularly neighboring countries, is among Iranˈs top foreign policy priorities. He underlined that the existence of differences among regional countries over various issues is natural, saying, holding negotiations is a way of patching up differences. On Iran-Turkey relations he said that political ties between the two countries are at the highest level . The volume of trade between Iran and Turkey exceeded $21 billion in 2012 and it is expected to reach $30 billion soon, he said. Elsewhere in his remarks he called on the Bahraini government to meet peopleˈs demands. ˈOur policy is to defend peopleˈs rights and we think that either in Syria or in Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen peopleˈs rights should be defended. But there may be some differences over how to do this.ˈ In Syria some believe that in order to defend people, opposition groups should be provided with money and weapons, he said, adding ˈBut we believe that this is wrong and increasing violence will do innocent people more harm.ˈ He noted that any one who wants to defend the Syrian people should help put an end to violence. Commenting on Iran-Egypt relations, Mehmanparast said that Egypt is a big and important country with a rich history and influential culture, adding ˈwe stress the necessity of cooperation between powerful countries and believe that enhanced Iran-Egypt ties benefits the entire region.ˈ When asked about Egyptian President Mohamed Morsiˈs proposal on Syria which was put forward in the trilateral meeting of the Iranian, Egyptian and Turkish presidents on the sidelines of OIC Summit in Cairo, he said that President Morsiˈs proposal is much like Iranˈs 6-point proposal on Syria. ˈWe are supposed to study the proposal and announce our point of views.ˈ/end