Iran, Greece Discuss Bilateral, Regional Issues

In the meeting between Iran’s Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias, held on the sidelines of the 70th Session of United Nations General Assembly, the two sides explored avenues for reinforcing bilateral cooperation on the crisis in Syria, which has also affected Greece given the flock of Syrian refugees to its territory.

Zarif underscored the necessity for avoiding any preconditions for the end of conflicts, explaining that Tehran’s plan to resolve the crisis is firstly focused on fighting terrorism, and then on the formation of a national unity government with the participation of all parties.

Last year, Iran proposed a four-part plan for finding a political solution to the ongoing crisis in Syria, which was welcomed by the UN. Iranian officials say that plan has now been updated.

Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011. In the past four years, more than 240,000 people have died in Syria -overwhelmingly civilians– and around 4 million Syrian people are now refugees in other countries. Another 7.6 million are displaced inside Syria.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian minister extended his congratulations over the reelection of the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

It was agreed during the meeting that Kotzias would visit Iran soon, and Prime Minister Tsipras would also pay an official visit to Tehran afterwards.

Iran and Greece, known as popular tourist destinations for their rich histories, seem more willing to strengthen ties after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani took office in August 2013.

Back in late May, Zarif traveled to Athens and conferred with the European country's top officials on the expansion of mutual cooperation.

In his May meeting with Kotzias, Zarif discussed ways to forge closer ties in trade, energy, tourism, agriculture and industry, as well as establishment of a direct flight route between Tehran and Athens, which was later launched by the Greek Aegean Airlines.