Iran renews call for peaceful Syria solution at UN meeting

Iran has called for a political solution to end the crisis in Syria, saying all countries should help facilitate a peaceful process.

Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations Mohammad Khazaei made the remarks on Wednesday at the UN General Assembly, where an Arab-backed resolution against Syria was approved by 107 member states.

Khazaei criticized the resolution for not referring to Israel’s recent aggressions against Syria.

He told the General Assembly meeting that the presence of foreign-backed militants in Syria endangers the stability and security of the whole region, and blamed the insurgents for using chemical weapons against Syrian people.

Earlier in the session, Syria’s UN Ambassador Bashar al-Ja’afari rejected the “one-sided” document for failing to provide a political resolution to the ongoing crisis in the Arab country.

Ja’afari blamed Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey for undermining the UN mission in his country.

Iran, Belarus, Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, China and Russia were among 12 countries to oppose the Wednesday resolution. Fifty-nine countries including Brazil, South Africa, India, and Indonesia abstained.

Syria has experienced a deadly unrest since March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of soldiers and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

Damascus says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.

Iran opposes any foreign intervention in Syria and has been calling for an end to all violence in Syria. It is also urging negotiations between Syrian government officials and the opposition, and plans to host a meeting of the Friends of Syria on May 29 in Tehran.