Officials and representatives from over 30 countries participating in the international summit in Tehran on August 09, 2012.
TEHRAN (FNA)- Delegates of 30 world countries and international bodies participating in the International Conference on Syria in the Iranian capital issued a final statement at the end of their meeting Thursday evening.
The international consultative conference on the developments in Syria started in Tehran this afternoon and wrapped up work after several hours of discussions in the evening.
The following is the full text of the statement issued at the end of the gathering.
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Statement of the Chairman of Tehran Consultative Meeting on Syria
Tehran – August 9, 2012
Tehran Consultative Meeting on Syria was convened on August 9, 2012, to strengthen all-out regional and international efforts to help Syrian people to find a way out of ongoing crisis and prepare a suitable ground for national dialogue in a peaceful atmosphere. The meeting which was headed by His Excellency Dr. Salehi, the esteemed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and participated by ministers and delegates from Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Belarus, Benin, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Maldives, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, and the United Nations, made the following recommendations:
– Expressing serious concern over the continuation of clashes and violation of human rights in Syria and the vast losses and damages which have caused grief and numerous problems for the people of Syria, and expressing sympathy with the family of the victims of armed clashes and terrorist acts.
– Emphasizing the necessity of pursuing political solutions based on national dialogue as the only way to resolve the Syrian crisis with the main objective of bringing the violence to a total end and encouraging the two sides to prepare the ground for the national dialogue.
– Expressing support to the legitimate demands of the Syrian people to carry out reforms in order to build democracy and promote all-out political partnership of different parties and opposition groups to exercise their right to run their own country, in a peaceful manner and calm atmosphere and without any foreign intervention.
– Expressing welcome and support to all good offices made already in line with the principles of good intentions and impartiality to settle the Syrian crisis and appreciating the efforts made by the Secretary General of the UN and his special envoy Mr. Kofi Annan for his 6-point plan as well as putting emphasis on continuation of the activities of the international observers to consolidate sustainable peace and tranquility in Syria.
– Emphasizing the need to uphold the principles of international law regarding non-intervention in domestic affairs of other countries and the respect of their national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and urging to cease the hostilities by putting an end to any military assistance to armed groups and warning of the dangerous impacts of support for armed groups on regional peace and security.
– Emphasizing the necessity to deliver humanitarian assistance to the people of Syria in order to mitigate the plight of Syrian people in cooperation with the government of Syria.
– Emphasizing the necessity to examine establishing of a contact group from among the participating countries aiming to end the violence and starting the inclusive dialogue between the Syrian government and the opposition.
– Expressing serious concern over the entry of known terrorist groups and sects into the Syrian conflict and seriously warning of the spread of terrorism and its dire consequences on the peace and security of the region.
– Welcoming the proposal of the Islamic Republic of Iran for calling upon the conflicting parties to end clashes and violence for three months on the occasion of the arrival of Eid al- Fitr which is one of the most important festivity for all Muslims of the world to stop hostilities in Syria in order to follow up negotiations and adopt peaceful mechanisms.
At the end, all participants expressed their appreciations to the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for holding Tehran Consultative Meeting and emphasized on the necessity to continue such consultative meetings in order to mitigate the sufferings of Syrian people and bringing peace and stability to the region.
Foreign ministers and envoys of a large number of countries, including Russia, China, Belarus, Mauritania, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Turkmenistan, Benin, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Algeria, Iraq, Zimbabwe, Oman, Venezuela, Tajikistan, India, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Nicaragua, Cuba, Sudan, Jordan, Tunisia and Palestine as well as the UN envoy to Tehran are present at the conference.
Iran rejects foreign military intervention as solution to Syrian crisis
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has rejected foreign military intervention as a solution to the Syrian unrest, saying dialogue is the only key to the ongoing crisis in the Arab country.
“Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, Iran has highlighted the priority of political and peaceful measures and strategies for the restoration of peace to this country (Syria),” Salehi said Thursday during a one-day international consultative meeting on the Syrian situation in Tehran.
“Iran is against the killing of unarmed people and citizens by any side,” he added.
“All of the countries that somehow play a role in the Syrian crisis must accept the fact that the political, demographic and geopolitical features of Syria are such that make internal and political dialogue the only possible solution to this crisis,” the Iranian foreign minister said.
Salehi warned against fueling the Syrian crisis by arming the insurgents and preparing the ground for the operation of extremist groups such as al-Qaeda, saying this will spread the tensions to other states and make its management ever more difficult.
He further expressed Iran’s support for the measures taken by the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to peacefully defuse the Syrian crisis.
Iran has always been a “part of the solution to regional crises” over the past years as is attested by Tehran’s “positive and influential” role in Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon, he added.
He concluded by thanking the participants in the international summit, saying their wisdom will contribute to the establishment of peace in Syria through comprehensive national dialogue.
Officials and representatives from over 30 countries are participating in the international summit in the Iranian capital.
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Iran proposes formation of contact group on Syria
Iran has proposed the formation of a contact group to help end the violence in Syria, while stressing that dialog is the only solution to the crisis in the Arab country.
“When a nation is hit by crisis, it is one of the customary methods of international relations to establish a contact group by impartial countries to manage the parties involved [in the crisis] and to pave the way for mutual understanding, interaction, and dialogue,” Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said at a press conference after a one-day international consultative meeting on the Syrian situation in Tehran on Thursday.
Salehi said that more discussions about the technicalities regarding the contact group will be held in the near future.
He noted that forming the contact group will be in line with Iran’s policy to look for a democratic solution to the Syrian situation.
“The political, demographic, and geopolitical features of Syria are such that make internal and political dialogue the only possible solution to this crisis,” the Iranian foreign minister said during the meeting on the Syrian situation in Tehran.
“Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, Iran has highlighted the priority of political and peaceful measures and strategies for the restoration of peace to this country (Syria),” Salehi added.
Delegates from more than 30 countries, including Russia, China, Iraq, and Jordan attended the event in Tehran.
In a Thursday message to the consultative meeting in Tehran, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that Iran’s initiative has opened opportunities to find a peaceful solution to the Syrian situation. He called on all nations to actively support efforts to stop, what he warned could soon turn into, a long-term civil war in the country.
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