Interview with ILNA News Agency December 6, 2024 -
The interview was in Persian and the translation below was done by Ai.
Sasan Karimi, a professor of international relations at the University of Tehran, in an interview with an ILNA reporter, referring to the diplomatic trips of our country's Foreign Minister to the region and Iran's role in reducing tensions, said: I must say that travel is always useful and helps to bring together and build morale. Diplomatic activity always helps to stabilize. Mr. Araqchi's trips will certainly be in this direction. Diplomacy is considered a window to stability.
There are traces of support from some countries in supporting terrorist groups active in Syria
He continued: Regarding the developments in the region and Iran's role, the reality is that the groups that remained in northern Syria have recovered themselves without being disarmed or disarmed. It is not precisely known with what support these groups have been activated, and it is not professional to judge this based on assumptions. Of course, the interests of some countries in the region require them to support these groups, and there are traces of these groups. The conflict these groups had in the past with the forces that were stationed there with the support of the Americans no longer exists. Mr. Muhammad al-Julani, the leader of this group, announced in an interview a few months ago that they no longer have a conflict with the forces that the United States supports. The Americans, although they do not support them, did not show any negative attitude towards this issue.
Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey must reach an agreement to eliminate terrorist centers
Karimi, stating that the issue of tension and the export of terrorism from Syria has previously been raised as a serious threat and that no country in the region can ignore this issue, stated: It seems that the most important and largest countries in the region, namely Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, must reach an agreement to eliminate these terrorist centers and instability; otherwise, the scope of these problems may spread to other countries in the region and infect them as well.
Turkey has not fulfilled any of its commitments in the Astana Memorandum
Regarding the importance of the Astana process in resolving the challenges that have befallen Syria and the continuation of these negotiations, which are scheduled to be held in Doha at the beginning of next week, this foreign policy expert stated: In any case, in the past, this initiative, namely the Astana process, was able to bring peace to the issue in Syria and resolve the issues to some extent. Of course, in the meeting held after the Astana process between Turkey and Russia in 2018, Turkey was supposed to either disarm or evacuate the forces it had deployed in northern Syria, but unfortunately, none of these measures were taken. I welcome the resumption of the Astana process in its original form with the participation of all three countries, Turkey, Iran, and Russia. Of course, it should be noted that the situation in Russia is very different from 2017 and 2018 due to its involvement in the war in Ukraine. At the same time, Turkey must also be convinced that such moves are not in the interest of anyone in the region. I hope that in such a meeting, the Astana process will move towards reducing tensions.
Stopping the dialogue will only help the situation worsen
This professor of international relations considered the continuation of the Geneva talks beneficial for Iran, especially in the turbulent conditions of the region, and stated: Dialogue is the only way that exists and is before us. Therefore, we must continue the dialogue. A country like Iran and in a region of the world like Europe does not have just one issue, there are various issues such as the nuclear issue, the Gaza issue, the Ukrainian war, the Syrian issue, Lebanon, etc., which of course are not necessarily all the subject of discussion, but the talks cannot be stopped because of one of these issues or issues that may exist between us. In principle, stopping the talks is not constructive and does not have much benefit. If you also refer to the history of diplomacy, stopping the talks usually only helps to worsen the situation.
In diplomacy, failure to reach a result does not mean the end of the line
He noted: I welcome the fact that in the first round, a brainstorming session was held in the negotiations between Iran and the Europeans. But in subsequent rounds, if the Europeans take a logical position, it may lead to a result. Of course, the result alone is not important, as in any other matter, the result does not determine whether action is taken or not. Even a war may be without a result. Therefore, in diplomacy, the lack of a result does not mean that it should not continue. The window of diplomacy must be open because the best and least expensive solution to resolve misunderstandings, tensions, and ill intentions is only dialogue.
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