At a UN General Assembly meeting on Monday, Khazaei said Iran supports any constructive, impartial and peaceful process led by the Syrian people and is ready to play a constructive role in this regard.
Emphasizing Syria’s key role in the Middle East, Khazaei said “long-term instability and unrest in the country will adversely affect the entire region, and thus everyone must look for a comprehensive, effective and practical solution to help peacefully resolve the current situation in Syria without any foreign interference.”
Khazaei added that imposing sanctions and other forms of pressure against Damascus as well as making attempts to interfere in the country’s internal affairs would only deepen the political and social crisis in Syria.
Referring to Russia’s call for dialogue in Syria, the Iranian envoy suggested that all Syrian groups should take Moscow’s proposal into consideration.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov proposed on February 9 an initiative for organizing a national dialogue between the Syrian government and opposition forces “aimed at creating conditions for the Syrians themselves to enter dialogue and begin the road to national reconciliation.”
Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011. Hundreds of people, including many Syrian security forces, have been killed in the course of the turmoil.
Damascus blames “outlaws, saboteurs and armed terrorist groups” for the unrest, insisting that it is being orchestrated from abroad. The West and the Syrian opposition, however, accuse the government of killing the protesters.