Ukraine faces threat of separatism: Velayati

A senior diplomatic advisor to Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has warned against the threat of separatism in Ukraine.

“Today …separatism is a [serious] threat against Ukraine and the security of the Caucasus region is very important and must receive special attention,” said Ali Akbar Velayati at a Monday meeting with a delegation from the Japan Institute of International Affairs in Tehran.

On Sunday, Ukraine’s newly-elected parliamentary speaker Oleksandr Turchynov announced that lawmakers must form a national unity government by Tuesday following a vote to oust President Viktor Yanukovych.

The MPs also voted to hand the president’s duties to Turchynov, a close ally of Ukraine’s former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

The political landscape of Ukraine changed on Saturday after more than three months of violent protests.

Jailed opposition leader Tymoshenko, who was released on the same day, promised her supporters that the country would soon join the European Union (EU).

Ukraine has been rocked by anti-government protests since Yanukovych refrained from signing an Association Agreement with the EU on November 29, 2013, in favor of closer ties with Russia.

Velayati also pointed to the US presence in the Middle East and noted, “Due to [its] strategic importance the US is not willing to leave the region.”

The top Iranian official touched on the developments in Syria and noted that after three years since the outbreak of the crisis the power equation has now changed in the interest of the Syrian nation and their supporters.

Velayati pointed to Iran’s opposition to the flow of arms to Syria form abroad and the massacre of the people in the country, adding, “Therefore, the only favorable solution to resolve the Syrian crisis is dialogue and a political solution.”

Syria has been has gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. Over 130,000 people have reportedly been killed and millions displaced due to the unrest.

According to reports, Western powers and their regional allies — Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.