Regional Peace A Highlight of Iran-Saudi Deal: Amirabdollahian
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said one of the main subjects that Tehran and Riyadh have underlined in the recent agreement on the restoration of ties was regional peace.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference in Tehran on Sunday, Amirabdollahian said Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed on the normalization of relations that were severed seven years ago.
Asked about the settlement of the crisis in Yemen in light of détente between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the foreign minister said Tehran believes that the Yemeni issue relates only to the people of Yemen.
“However, emphasis on peace in the region was among the agreements between Tehran and Riyadh,” Amirabdollahian noted, adding that what Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani and his Saudi counterpart have agreed upon in the talks in Beijing has been declared in their joint statement.
He said a series of messages have been exchanged via Switzerland in the past 10 days as Iran has expressed readiness for a meeting of foreign ministers and has proposed three venues for the meeting.
“I will hold a meeting with the Saudi foreign minister in the near future and have plans to make arrangements for the reopening of embassies,” the top Iranian diplomat stated.
Following days of intensive talks in Beijing, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed on March 10 to resume their diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies and diplomatic missions within at most two months.
The Arab governments neighboring Iran have eagerly welcomed the rapprochement between the two regional heavyweights.
During a visit to the UAE on Thursday, Shamkhani called for goodwill and compromise to settle the “family differences”, stressing that cooperation needs to replace hostilities to meet the existing challenges which do not benefit any regional party.