Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said that the country offers to mediate in negotiations of Syrian authorities and opposition, RIA Novosti reports.
The minister reminded that Iran had played the role of a stabilizer in Iraq and Afghanistan in the last 10 years. Iran wants to focus efforts in stopping bloodshed, providing humanitarian aid and preparing a platform for dialogue.
Salehi believes that resignation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would provoke fragmentation of the states with its diversity of ethnicities, religions and cultures.
Iran announced consultations on Syria in Tehran on Thursday. Deputy Foreign Minister Hosein Amir Abdollahian said that they want to stress on restoration of stability in Syria.
Secretary of the Supreme Council of National Security of Iran Said Jalili said in Syria on Tuesday that Iran will continue supporting Syria in the fight against terrorism.
The conflict in Syria has been ongoing since March 2011, despite the peace plan of UN and LAS special envoy Kofi Annan implemented in mid-April. The UN says that over 16,000 people have died. Syrian authorities say that they face well-armed opposition supported by foreign states. Russia and China fear that foreign intervention in Syria and loss of statehood would escalate the conflict.
It was announced last week that Annan will resign on August 11. He said in Geneva that he had not received the necessary supporting for the mission. Annan noted that the world society split into two approaches on the Syrian problem.
