Lebanese speaker: Iran's partnership vital for settling Syrian problem

The crisis in Syria cannot be resolved without Iran's cooperation and partnership, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said, adding that certain regional states do not have a correct understanding of the new situation in the region. "Certain Arab and regional states have failed to gather a correct understanding of the new regional and international conditions to devise their foreign policy in accordance with the new conditions," Berri said in a meeting with Iranian Ambassador to Beirut Qazanfar Roknabadi on Friday afternoon. He underlined Iran's special situation in the region and the world, and said, "The settlement of the regional problems is not possible without considering the Islamic Republic of Iran's role and situation." "On the Syrian crisis, it has been obvious since the onset of the developments that the settlement of the crisis is impossible without the Islamic Republic of Iran's partnership," Berri reiterated. In relevant remarks on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif underscored Tehran's decisive role in the settlement of the crisis in Syria. During the meeting in New York on Wednesday, the UN chief said that Iran could play an important role in resolving the Syrian crisis. Ban stressed the need for Tehran's presence in any international talks on Syria. He also called for further cooperation between Iran and the UN in various regional issues. Zarif, for his part, pointed to Iran’s efforts to settle the Syrian crisis through peaceful means, and reiterated Tehran’s readiness to continue efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the Syrian crisis. Iranian officials have repeatedly underlined that Tehran is in favor of negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition groups to create stability in the Middle Eastern country. Last November, Iran hosted a meeting between the representatives of the Syrian government and opposition to encourage them to start talks to find a political solution to their problems. The National Dialogue Conference kicked off work in Tehran mid November with the motto of 'No to Violence, Yes to Democracy". The meeting brought together almost 200 representatives of various Syrian ethnicities, political groups, minorities, the opposition, and state officials. While in New York last month, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani once again underlined that Tehran is ready to take part in the planned Geneva II conference on the Syrian crisis “without any preconditions”. “If invited without any preconditions, Iran will participate in the Geneva II conference in order to help resolve the Syrian crisis,” President Rouhani said in a meeting with UN and Arab League Special Envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi in New York. During the meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the 68th annual session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Iranian president urged an immediate settlement to the ongoing conflict in Syria. Brahimi, for his part, briefed the Iranian president on the latest developments in Syria and said he would like to see Tehran attend the upcoming Geneva II conference. Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against the Syrian police, border guards, statesmen, army and civilians being reported across the country. Thousands of people have been killed since terrorist and armed groups turned protest rallies into armed clashes. The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.