Senior Iranian Diplomat: Riyadh Escaping Talks

“Saudi Arabia doesn’t believe in this (resolving the crisis in Syria through talks) and this has provoked the opposition or made them an instrument in the hands of rich countries and they haven’t entered (peace) talks yet seriously,” Director-General of the Iranian Foreign Ministry for Middle-East and Africa Mohammad Irani said on Sunday.

“Escaping from talks is Saudi Arabia’s current logic and it has opted for this method even in its bilateral issues with Iran. Iran always insists on talks. Many issues that we think are not solvable can be settled through discussion and negotiation,” he added.

In relevant remarks last March, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the existing issues between Iran and Saudi Arabia should be resolved through dialog and diplomacy.

President Rouhani said Tehran welcomes dialog to resovle resolve its disputes with Riyadh.

“We do not wish for the tensions to escalate between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Iran is a major country in the Muslim world and Saudi Arabia, too, holds an important position. If there is any issue between these two countries, it must be settled.”