Rouhani: Foreign forces’ presence in Syria illegal
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday called for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Syria, saying their presence there without the Syrian government’s consent is deemed illegal.
“From our point of view, the presence of foreign forces in Syria without the permission of the government is illegal and should be terminated,” Rouhani said in Tehran before leaving the Iranian capital for Turkey’s Ankara for a trilateral summit.
Today, the Iranian president along with his Turkish and Russian counterparts Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin discuss the situation in war-stricken Syria. The three countries have sponsored a series of peace efforts to end the conflict in Syria.
Rouhani said the summit is part of efforts to “ease tensions in Syria.”
He noted that Syria’s future should be decided by its own people through comprehensive talks and the international community needs to support the will of the Syrian people.
Rouhani said he will reiterate that “the Syrian issue does not have a military solution.”
He also lashed out at certain countries for supporting terrorist groups operating in Syria with the aim of disintegrating the country.
“The US seeks to prevent the Syrian government’s sovereignty over all regions of this country and even wants to partition it”, Rouhani said. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is accompanying Rouhani, warned Western countries against derailing peace efforts through their interference in Syria’s internal affairs.