Syrian people must decide own fate: Iran foreign minister

Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says the people in Syria must be allowed to determine their own fate, rejecting any foreign interference in the Arab country’s affairs.

“The Syrians should determine their destiny on their own, and a prescription should not be offered from outside this country,” Salehi told reporters upon arrival at Cairo International Airport on Wednesday night.

He said that Iran did not seek to interfere in Syria and reiterated that, under international conventions, no country is allowed to meddle in the affairs of other countries. The Iranian foreign minister, however, added that the friends of Syria could act in such a way as to keep the region safe from disastrous consequences and help restore peace and stability in the region.

The top Iranian diplomat said that different peace plans have been offered to resolve the unrest in Syria, including the ones proposed by Iran and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and added that the common points of the plans need to be found and the viewpoints of influential countries should be brought together with the aim of finding a domestic solution to the crisis in Syria.

Salehi said that the aim of his visit to Egypt is to hold talks with Egyptian officials, including President Mohamed Morsi and Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr, on matters of mutual interest as well as regional issues, including Syria.

“This is an official visit that I am paying to Egypt. We will be discussing bilateral issues of course and also important regional issues; the issue of Syria and other issues of mutual interest,” he said.

He said that Egypt, as a significant and influential country, can play a major role in the settlement of the unrest in Syria, which he stressed must be resolved in a peaceful way and without foreign interference.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011. Many people, including large numbers of army and security personnel, have been killed in the turmoil.