Friends of Syria in Tehran: Free Elections, Fight against Terrorism

Local Editor

The second parliamentary meeting of the "Friends of Syria" countries kicked off in the Iranian capital, Tehran on Sunday morning.

Parliamentary delegations from 30 countries are attending the meeting. The participants are mostly heads of the parliamentary foreign policy commissions in their countries, coming from Latin America, Africa, Islamic countries and Syria's neighbors plus a delegation from Syria itself.

Bolivia's parliament speaker and vice-speaker of the Malian parliament have also taken part in the gathering.
High-ranking Iranian officials also attended the inauguration of the conference, which is directed by Chairman of Iran's Parliamentary Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy Alaeddin Boroujerdi.

Iranian Speaker Ali Larijani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also addressed the event.
Addressing the meeting, Larijani said the event is a kind of support for democracy and also aims to send a negative message to those responsible for the massacre of people in the region.

He added that participants in the meeting pursue the fight against terrorism through promotion of democracy in the region, not by dispatching arms to terrorists as some countries have been doing in Syria.

Larijani also slammed some foreign countries for involvement in a "dirty adventurism" in Syria, saying that the West thought the conflict in Syria could provide the Zionist entity with breathing room and supplied foreign-backed militants in the Arab country with military and financial support.

For his part, Zarif said that interference in Syria through supporting the armed groups will spread the crisis into other areas.

He added that terrorism will rebound to those who support and finance it in Syria, calling on the international community to immediately combat terrorism.

"The presidential elections in Syria is a significant and serious step on the road of solving the crisis.. and we hope Syria restores peace, security and stability in the near future," The Iranian Minister said.

Zarif stressed that no solution to the crisis in Syria except through the ballot boxes, asserting that Iran called from the beginning for solving the crisis by peaceful means and devoted its efforts in this regard.

Earlier on Saturday, Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi said the meeting is held "in line with Iran's policies aimed at putting an end to the conflicts in Syria and establishing peace and security in the country, which is seen as the frontline of resistance against the Zionist regime entity."

The Iranian top lawmaker said the growing number of countries taking part in such a conference indicates that Iran's policy on the Syrian crisis has become popular in the world while that of the US and its allies has failed.

On the sides of the meeting, Larijani met his Bolivian counterpart , Marcelo Elio Chavez.
He further stressed that "the meeting in this sensitive period of time for Syria with the presence of parliament speakers and heads of foreign policy commissions of parliaments from over 30 countries is an emphasis on necessity of taking a political solution and holding a free and fair election in that country."

The first meeting of this kind was held in the Iranian capital, Tehran, in March, bringing together delegations from Russia, Algeria, Lebanon, Iraq, Venezuela, Syria and Iran.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team