MESOP FOCUS : EU PRO PUTIN FRIEND MOGHERINI ASKS TEHRAN MULLAHS ABOUT SYRIAN DEVELOPMENT

European Union’s Federica de Mogherini with President Rouhani on Saturday

Iran has welcomed the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica de Mogherini, for discussions on the Syrian crisis.Mogherini met President Rouhani, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and other senior officials on Saturday in Tehran.

No details were given of the discussions, with Rouhani reiterating the official Iranian line, “All should know that the Syrian issue has no military solution and must be resolved through diplomatic means.He continued, “In this regard, the EU’s increased activity to create security and peace in Syria with the cooperation of regional countries will be effective.”

Rouhani said the EU should use its “political influence” to put pressure on the regional sponsors of “terrorist groups” to block financial support. Otherwise, he warned, “terrorist governments” would be established in the Middle East and North Africa if the groups were “not seriously confronted”.

Iranian media simply said that Mogherini “underlined the need for cooperation between Tehran and the EU in the settlement of regional conflicts, including in Syria, saying that diplomacy can help solve such crises”.

The meeting followed Foreign Minister Zarif’s trip to Moscow on Friday for talks with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, and then a three-way conversation with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem. The trip took place amid increasing political pressure on Russia and the Assad regime to halt the siege and bombing of opposition areas of Aleppo. The three men offered no response to Friday’s development of a rebel offensive challenging foreign forces — including Iranian units and Iranian-led militias — and the Syrian Army in the west of the city. www.mesop.de