(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - He made the remarks in a press conference in Cairo on Thursday. Iranˈs president, who was in Cairo to attend the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit, has expressed Iranˈs complete readiness to bolster cooperation with Egypt in all sectors.
ˈAll nationsˈ right for determining their destiny should be respected everywhere, including Syria and Bahrain; the Syrian crisis should be resolved through national reconciliation; Tehran is trying to bring the two sides of civil war in Syria closer; Tehran, Cairo and Ankara views towards resolution of Syrian crisis are converging.”
President stressed that Iran believes all outside parties should help reconciliation and national dialogue in Syria and this is the Syrian nation which should decide finally who should govern them.
Answering a question about the Riyadh’s role in resolution of Syrian crisis, Ahmadinejad emphasized that brother country of Saudi Arabia would welcome any step towards making peace and stability there.
Responding to another question about crackdown of peaceful protesters in Bahrain, he said that Iran will not interfere in any other country’s internal affairs, but Tehran believes governments all around the world, including the Bahraini government, should respect nationˈs demands.
Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February 2011, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynastyˈs over-40-year rule. Violence against the defenseless people escalated after a Saudi-led conglomerate of police, security and military forces from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member states - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar - were dispatched to the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom on March 13, 2011, to help Manama crack down on peaceful protestors. So far, tens of people have been killed, hundreds have gone missing and thousands of others have been injured.
Police clampdown on protesters continues daily. Authorities have tried to stop organized protests by opposition parties over the past month by refusing to license them and using tear gas on those who turn up.Speaking about Tehran and PGCC ties, President Ahmadinejad called the relations at a good level and added that ties between Iran and PGCC member-states are enhancing.
“All regional countries, including Turkey and Iraq, should protect their friendship against common enemies; enemies have plots for weakening and partitioning of regional countries, including Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Iran.”
The Islamic Republic of Iran is in favor of negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition groups to create stability in the Middle Eastern country.
Late in November, Iran hosted a two-day meeting titled ˈNo to Violence, Yes to Democracyˈ and was attended by 200 Syrian religious and political figures, leaders of tribes and parties as well as representatives and leaders of the opposition groups in a move to pave the way for dialogue between representatives of Syrian opposition and government.
Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.
Hundreds 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 capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrests in Syria.
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