TERHAN -- Foreign Minister
Hussein Amir-Abdollahian said here Sunday Iran is against war anywhere in the world, underscoring diplomacy as the sole way out of the crisis in Ukraine.
“We oppose war in Ukraine as we do in Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq or any other place in the world,” he told a joint press conference with his Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau.
“We believe the crisis in Ukraine will be resolved politically,” Amir-Abdollahian said. Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, he added, must lead to an immediate ceasefire.
Iran’s top diplomat said once the war broke out in Ukraine, Iran was ready to dispatch a medical team to Poland’s border. However, he said, as the International Committee of the Red Cross has set up hubs in neighboring countries, Iran was told there was no need for that dispatch.
“We are still ready to send a medical team,” Amir-Abdollahian said.
The foreign minister said Tehran is willing to work for a ceasefire that will contribute to peace, stability and security throughout the world.
Russia launched its military campaign against Ukraine on February 24 with the aim of “de-Nazifying” the country and preventing it from joining NATO. The United States and its European allies have imposed a wide array of sanctions against Moscow ever since.
In mid-April, Amir-Abdollahian communicated Iran’s opposition to war in Ukraine during a telephone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba. He urged attention on the part of the concerned parties to the conflict to a political solution, hoping that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine “would lead to stability and peace.”
Elsewhere during the press conference, Amir-Abdollahian said Tehran and Warsaw saw eye to eye on boosting cooperation in various fields, including energy, science and technology, automotive industry, nuclear medicine, and student exchange.
Rau, for his part, said promotion of trade and economic relations with Iran is among Poland’s priorities once the Vienna talks on the revival of the 2015 deal are concluded.
“Reaching an agreement to ramp up cultural cooperation is the first step; we will try to strengthen trade ties as we believe Iran has a great potential to that end,” the Polish foreign minister said.