EU Eyes Interaction with Iran beyond Nuclear Issue
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The European Union’s foreign policy chief stressed that interaction between the bloc and Iran should not be confined to the nuclear talks, but Europe needs to promote cooperation with Iran, which she described as a major regional player.
“Iran is not only the country with which we have nuclear talks, it is also a regional important player and this practically means that we will have to engage with Iran also on its neighborhood,” Federica Mogherini said on Monday after a meeting of the EU foreign ministers.
The EU has been coordinating diplomacy with Iran on behalf of six major world powers (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) since the two sides began diplomatic negotiations in 2013 to resolve a 12-year standoff over Tehran's peaceful nuclear program.
Mogherini’s predecessor Catherine Ashton played an active role in the negotiations between Iran and the Group 5+1 (alternatively known as the P5+1 or E3+3). She still liaises with Iran given her familiarity with the process of talks.
Elsewhere in her comments, Mogherini referred to Iran and Russia as the two countries that can well contribute to the settlement of a 3-year-old crisis in Syria.
“The European Union is ready to engage with all regional and international actors with influence over the Syrian parties,” she added.
Iran, a staunch ally of Syria, has been giving its support to Syria’s legitimate government in countering the foreign-backed militants.
The Arab country has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with ISIL Takfiri terrorists currently controlling parts of it mostly in the east.
The US and its regional allies have been supporting the militants operating inside Syria for more than three years.
An estimated 200,000 people have been killed in over three years of fighting in the war-ridden country, according to the United Nations.
