Putin: Iran, Syria Need to Build Ties on Their Own
MOSCOW (Dispatches) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that it wasn’t Russia’s job to decide whether Iran has to leave Syria.
"Syria and Iran are both independent countries. They need to build their relationship on their own,” Putin said at an international policy forum in Sochi.
The Russian president said that while Russia helped negotiate the pullback of Iranian military advisers from the Golan Heights border with Occupied Palestine over the summer, a full Iranian pullback is another matter.
The occupying regime of Israel and the United States have demanded the withdrawal of all Iranian forces from Syria.
Putin said that the issue could be discussed between Iran, Syria and the United States, with Russia joining the dialogue. He said Syria should be offered security guarantees by "those who want to see the Iranian forces pull out".
Putin’s special envoy for the Middle East Mikhail Bogdanov last week dismissed Tel Aviv’s demand that Iran be forced out of Syria, saying it was none of Israel’s business, but Syria’s sovereign right whether to allow Iranian forces on its soil.
At the request of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Iran has been providing military advisory assistance to the Syrian army in its operations to eliminate terror groups.
However, over the past few years, the Zionist regime has frequently attacked military targets inside Syria in an attempt to prop up terrorist groups that have been suffering defeats at the hands of Syrian government forces.
On Wednesday, Iran's deputy ambassador to the UN says the United States should stop supporting terrorism in Syria and end its illegal military presence there.
Addressing the UN Security Council, Es’haq Al-e Habib stressed that Iran’s legitimate presence in Syria is aimed at fighting the U.S.- and Saudi-backed terrorists in the Arab country.
He further called on the international community to exhaust all efforts to reconstruct the war-battered Syria.
Syria’s Ambassador to the UN Bashar Jaafari told the same meeting that the goals of the U.S.-led coalition purportedly fighting Daesh in Syria are the same as those pursued by terrorists.
The Syrian diplomat slammed the U.S. and allies for committing many crimes and supporting terrorism in Syria, calling for an immediate end to the American military presence there.
He said that U.S. airstrikes, especially its use of banned weapons, on Syria constitute a flagrant violation of international law.
The Syrian envoy cited the U.S. aerial attack on Dayr al-Zawr with internationally-banned phosphorous bombs, which left many women and children dead. "This so-called coalition has fought everything but terrorism,” he said.
In Moscow, Putin referred to U.S. sanctions against the companies that engage in trade with Iran, saying the move would spur the creation of payment systems that don't depend on the dollar.
The policy in Washington "undermines trust in the dollar as a universal payment instrument and the main reserve currency," he added.
Iran, Russia, and Turkey have agreed on removing the U.S. dollar from their mutual transactions as part of their efforts to expand trade relations amid Washington’s pressures.
"Syria and Iran are both independent countries. They need to build their relationship on their own,” Putin said at an international policy forum in Sochi.
The Russian president said that while Russia helped negotiate the pullback of Iranian military advisers from the Golan Heights border with Occupied Palestine over the summer, a full Iranian pullback is another matter.
The occupying regime of Israel and the United States have demanded the withdrawal of all Iranian forces from Syria.
Putin said that the issue could be discussed between Iran, Syria and the United States, with Russia joining the dialogue. He said Syria should be offered security guarantees by "those who want to see the Iranian forces pull out".
Putin’s special envoy for the Middle East Mikhail Bogdanov last week dismissed Tel Aviv’s demand that Iran be forced out of Syria, saying it was none of Israel’s business, but Syria’s sovereign right whether to allow Iranian forces on its soil.
At the request of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Iran has been providing military advisory assistance to the Syrian army in its operations to eliminate terror groups.
However, over the past few years, the Zionist regime has frequently attacked military targets inside Syria in an attempt to prop up terrorist groups that have been suffering defeats at the hands of Syrian government forces.
On Wednesday, Iran's deputy ambassador to the UN says the United States should stop supporting terrorism in Syria and end its illegal military presence there.
Addressing the UN Security Council, Es’haq Al-e Habib stressed that Iran’s legitimate presence in Syria is aimed at fighting the U.S.- and Saudi-backed terrorists in the Arab country.
He further called on the international community to exhaust all efforts to reconstruct the war-battered Syria.
Syria’s Ambassador to the UN Bashar Jaafari told the same meeting that the goals of the U.S.-led coalition purportedly fighting Daesh in Syria are the same as those pursued by terrorists.
The Syrian diplomat slammed the U.S. and allies for committing many crimes and supporting terrorism in Syria, calling for an immediate end to the American military presence there.
He said that U.S. airstrikes, especially its use of banned weapons, on Syria constitute a flagrant violation of international law.
The Syrian envoy cited the U.S. aerial attack on Dayr al-Zawr with internationally-banned phosphorous bombs, which left many women and children dead. "This so-called coalition has fought everything but terrorism,” he said.
In Moscow, Putin referred to U.S. sanctions against the companies that engage in trade with Iran, saying the move would spur the creation of payment systems that don't depend on the dollar.
The policy in Washington "undermines trust in the dollar as a universal payment instrument and the main reserve currency," he added.
Iran, Russia, and Turkey have agreed on removing the U.S. dollar from their mutual transactions as part of their efforts to expand trade relations amid Washington’s pressures.