Western States Responsible Towards Damages To Syria: Iran Speaker

Tehran, Jan 7, IRNA – Western states are responsible towards both spiritual and physical damages to the Syrian nation, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said here on Sunday. He made the remarks in a meeting with the Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Makdad. 'Those states that support the terrorist groups in Syria are responsible towards what these groups do there; Tehran supports Syrian nation, government and leadership against the all-out aggression of foreign countries.' Speaker praised Syrian nation, government and leadership's resistance towards outside plots and noted that Damascus enemies are doomed and the prospect for the Syrian nation is bright. 'Weakening Syrian government and leadership is against the regional security and stability and would be both political and security challenge to the region and Damascus' neighbors; Iranian parliament supports expansion of economic and parliamentarian relations between Tehran and Damascus.' Syrian deputy foreign minister, for his part, thanked Iran's all-out support for the Syrian nation. 'Syrian nation will not allow foreign states to interfere the country's internal affairs.' Syrian deputy foreign minister, in a meeting with Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on Saturday, appreciated Iran's efforts to end the Syrian crisis. According to the report of the Foreign Ministry Media Department, Makdad presented a report on the latest diplomatic developments in his country, including his recent visit to Moscow as well as his meeting with the UN Special Envoy on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi . Salehi underlined Iran's principled stances in support of the Syrian government and people and stressed that taking decisions about the Syrian future should be made by its own people and Iran condemns any kind of foreign interference in internal affairs of independent states, including Syria. Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against the Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country. Thousands of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes. The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad. In October 2011, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab countries have been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrest in Syria./end