Foreign Ministry rules out other parties' involvement in Syria

Tehran, Jan 2, IRNA – The issue of other parties lining up with Iran, Russia and Turkey to address the crisis in Syria is so far out of question, says Iran's foreign ministry spokesman. Bahram Qasemi made the remarks on Monday during his biweekly press conference, saying new players are not expected so far to join in. 'What remains to be important for the Islamic Republic is preservation of Syria's national sovereignty, its territorial integrity and the establishment of peace and stability in the country,' Qasemi said, describing as successful the agreements reached between Iran, Russia and Turkey in Moscow on the crisis in Syria. Peace and stability in Syria is an integral part of the regional peace and stability, he said. 'Bilateral consultations between Iran and its partners in the Moscow trilateral talks on Syria are continuing and we will keep consulting with the Syrian government as well,' the foreign ministry spokesman said. Qasemi said that all parties who are going to honestly help promote peace and stability in Syria are welcomed, but he emphasized that clearly the only parties that could intervene are Iran, Russia and Turkey. 'The three main countries that could be involved in the issue are Iran, Russia and Turkey as well as the Syrian government and part of the opposition,' he said. 'The parties are expected to meet in Astana to negotiate on Syria,' Qasemi said. Maybe in the future there will be a possibility for other parties to join in the process. The foreign ministry spokesman then denied a report by Reuters alleging that Syria is going to be divided into three parts with Iran, Russia and Turkey taking control of each portion. 'Such words are nonsense and false,' Qasemi said. 'Syria should remain to be an independent country with its territorial integrity and national sovereignty guaranteed and it should not turn to be the zone of influence of other countries', Iran included,' the official said. 1378/IRNA