Iran urges sides to cooperate on Salisbury attack

reporter 1222 — Thu, 05 Apr 2018 16:06:13 +0000

Iran’s representative to the UN chemical watchdog, Alireza Jahangiri, called on Russia and UK to settle disputes over the Salisbury nerve agent attack through cooperation and constructive talks.

Iranian Ambassador to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Alireza Jahangiri read out a joint statement during an extraordinary meeting of the OPCW Executive Council, on behalf of Russia, China, Pakistan, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The Iranian envoy called on the two sides involved in the dispute over the last month’s poisoning of a former Russian spy in southwest England to settle the issue through cooperation and constructive talks in a bid to move out of an impasse.

“Politicizing any issues within the framework of the Chemical Weapons Convention will benefit none of the Member States, and will threaten the credibility of the OPCW,” Jahangiri stressed.

Jahangiri further criticized the participating sides at the meeting for not having said anything about Iran as a main victim of chemical weapons as well as a victim of international silence.

During the tense meeting held on Wed. in The Hague, the British representatives slammed Russia’s proposal for contributing to an OPCW investigation into the Salisbury poisoning, accusing Russia of being responsible for the attack.

The Russian authorities, for their parts, said that UK and France have refused to answer the questions of Russian embassy in London and have barred the consulate’s access to Russian nationals. Russia also announced its readiness to cooperate with the OPCW probe.

Russia lost a vote at the meeting by 15-6 with 17 OPCW member states abstaining. The country gained support from China, Azerbaijan, Sudan, Algeria and Iran.

The meeting wrapped up without any conclusion due to Iran and Russia’s objection to the draft proposal by the Western side.

The post Iran urges sides to cooperate on Salisbury attack appeared first on Iran News Daily.

EU seeks to cooperate with Turkey on Iraq, Syria

reporter 1222 — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 08:00:14 +0000

TEHRAN – The EU’s foreign policy chief said on Oct. 16 the bloc would strengthen cooperation with Turkey on issues “related to regional dynamics.”

Speaking to journalists before a foreign affairs meeting in Luxembourg, Federica Mogherini said they will discuss how the EU and Turkey can “coordinate better” on Syria and Iraq.

Mogherini said she spoke with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu early on Oct. 16 to touch on “many strategic topics” such as counter-terrorism and the Cyprus issue.

The meeting of the foreign ministers, known as the Foreign Affairs Council, will also have discussions over the Iran nuclear deal and North Korea’s missile tests, Mogherini added.

The meeting is seen as a preliminary meeting for the European Council meeting of Oct. 19-20.