Attempts to change geographical borders in region will fail: Iran’s Rouhani

EghtesadOnline: Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says any attempt to change geographical borders in the region will fail, vowing the Islamic Republic’s resolve to continue its fight against terrorists until their eradication.

News ID: ۷۸۰۶۱۲

25 November 2017

Rouhani made the remarks in Tehran on Wednesday before his departure for the Black Sea resort of Sochi to attend a tripartite meeting on the Syria crisis with his Russian and Turkish counterparts.

According to PressTV, he further hailed the victories of Iraqi and Syrian nations in the face of terrorists, highlighting the role of Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement in the regional fight against terror.

“These achievements do not mean that the issue of terrorism and Daesh no longer exists. But [the terror group's] foundations have fallen apart,” which means it does not control any territory where it can claim statehood.

He said Iran knew from the very first day that using terrorists by certain states as a tool to push their own agendas would never succeed; that attempts to change geographical borders in the region would eventually fail; and that American and Israeli interference would not produce their desired results.

The Iranian chief executive voiced concerns about the security situation in the Middle East, and criticized attempts by Washington and Tel Aviv to fan the flames of tension in the region.

President Rouhani also said that the Iranian government and nation will continue their fight against terrorists until they are completely uprooted.

He further expressed hope that the Sochi summit will help pave the way for the Syrian nation to build a “good future.”

The president emphasized that it is up to the Syrian people to decide their own fate, adding that the Arab nation’s future “will not be in the hands of foreign powers.”

Rouhani and Russian and Turkish Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan are set to hold the Syria summit in Sochi later on Wednesday.

A number of diplomatic meeting have taken place to set the stage for the leaders' summit. Prior to the event, Putin sat down with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Sochi. Additionally, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Russian and Turkish counterparts Sergei Lavrov and Mevlut Cavusoglu met in Turkey's Antalya.

Iran, Russia and Turkey are acting as the guarantors of a ceasefire which took effect in Syria late last year. The truce is meant to help the trio launch a peace process aimed at bringing the warring sides in Syria to the negotiating table.

Since January, seven rounds of the intra-Syrian talks have been held in Astana, Kazakhstan, with the mediation of Tehran, Ankara and Moscow.