Syria Crisis Has No Military Solution: President Rouhani
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the ongoing crisis in Syria has no military solution, stressing Syrian people's right to determine their fate through a political process.
"What is of utmost importance is to understand that Syria doesn't have a military solution," Rouhani told NBC News on Wednesday on the sidelines of the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
"And the Syrians' problems must certainly be resolved politically. Only politically,” he added.
"The rule of the ballot box and the rule of the Syrian people and the will of the Syrian people should be the sole determinant of the future of the country," Rouhani said.
He also dismissed US Secretary of State John Kerry's demand Wednesday that Syria and Russia ground all aircraft in the northern part of the country after the bombing of a humanitarian convoy near Aleppo.
Doing so, Rouhani said, would help Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly known as al-Nusra Front), two terrorist groups fighting the Syrian government.
"They must be kept under pressure," Rouhani said, adding that if planes are grounded, it would 100 percent benefit them.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. Over the past few months, the militants active in the Arab country have suffered major setbacks as the Syrian army has managed to liberate several areas.
Elsewhere in his comments, Rouhani referred to a lasting nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reached between Tehran and six world powers on July 15, 2016, and slammed the US Treasury Department for making it hard for banks and other financial institutions from doing business with Iran.
Rouhani said no single country, or president, could unravel the agreement, which included seven countries and the United Nations and is policed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"No one can say here or there that I don't accept this agreement, I want to renegotiate,” he stressed.
While the JCPOA came into force in January, some Iranian officials complain about the US failure to fully implement the accord.
Back in March, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said Americans have yet to fulfill what they were supposed to do as per the nuclear deal.
Iran still has problems in its banking transactions or in restoring its frozen assets, because Western countries and those involved in such processes are afraid of Americans, the Leader said at the time, criticizing the US for its moves to prevent Iran from taking advantage of the sanctions removal.
