A senior Iranian diplomat has stressed the need for a political solution to the ongoing crisis in Syria, dismissing as a “mistake” any sort of a no-fly zone over the Arab country.
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“Talks of the establishment of a buffer and no-fly zone [over Syria] is the repetition of the previous mistakes and will not help with the security and stability in the region,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Thursday.
Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks on the sidelines of the 42nd annual meeting of foreign ministers of member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Kuwait.
In order for the political solution to materialize, he said, Syria’s neighboring states should control their borders and block the infiltration of terrorists into the Arab country.
Turkey has for months been calling on the United States to impose a no-fly zone over the border with Syria, claiming that such a buffer zone could protect Ankara from Syrian airstrikes against foreign-baked militants.
On Wednesday, the Russia-based Sputnik news agency quoted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying that Ankara and Washington failed to reach an agreement on the creation of no-fly and buffer zones over the Syrian territory.
Syria has been beset by a deadly crisis since March 2011. The conflict has reportedly claimed the lives of over 222,000 people.
The Iranian official further called for an end to using terrorism as a tool in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, warning that such measures will backfire on the countries currently supporting terrorist groups and consequently endanger regional security.
Amir-Abdollahian also described as another “mistake” Saudi Arabia’s aggression against Yemen, calling for the settlement of the crisis in the impoverished country through a political and peaceful process with the participation of all Yemeni political and social parties.
On March 26, Riyadh launched its deadly aggression against Yemen without a UN mandate.
According to the Freedom House Foundation, the Al Saud regime has killed at least 4,021 people, including 576 children and 261 women, and injured 7,017 others in its aggression against Yemen.
/SR
