Humanitarian aid to Syria, Yemen ‘urgent’

Mr. Zarif arrived in Bratislava earlier last night during his tour of 3 East European countries which included Slovakia. On Thursday, Zarif was received by President Andrej Kiska and they discussed bilateral relations as well as crises in the Middle East.

Mr. Kiska hailed Iran as an influential country in the region and a potentially powerful economy which Slovakia welcomed deepening ties with; “Iran and EU have directed relations in an accurate path and will be improved further; nuclear deal with world powers showed that Iran diplomatic efforts could achieve what major wars would not; your country enjoys an excellent position and stability amid the turmoil of the region,” Kiska told the meeting.

Zarif for his part said that in the new era of JCPOA, relations with Slovakia should be improved; “a delegation of businessmen and entrepreneurs accompany me in this tour and would bring a promise of good economic relations with Slovakia; we see the prospects of joint investments very promising, with banking transactions now unbound by the restrictions of sanctions,” he emphasized.

Mr. Zarif also turned to Syrian and Yemeni crises where humanitarian disaster had long been an issue; “as the head of the European Union, we want to see Slovakia more active and effective in advancing talks to facilitate humanitarian aid in these countries; dire situations in Syria and Yemen entail more active EU role in general; Iran welcomes any EU initiative to end the war and violence in Yemen and Syria through non-military means,” he suggested.