In a Wednesday interview with the Washington-based al-Monitor website, the Qatari top diplomat described the Islamic Republic as a “very important figure” in settling the deadly turmoil in Syria, saying, “I think Iran has a crucial role in solving this issue.”
The interview was conducted on the sidelines of the Geneva II conference on Syria, which opened in the Swiss city of Montreux on January 22.
On January 19, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Iran had been invited to the peace talks on Syria, but he later retracted the invitation. Tehran says the UN chief rescinded Iran’s invitation as a result of the pressure exerted on him.
Elsewhere in his comments, Al Attiyah stressed Iran’s right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, welcoming the interim deal clinched between Tehran and six world powers – Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany – in the Swiss city of Geneva in November last year.
“We live in the same region, and we believe in the rights of the country [Iran] to have their peaceful use of nuclear technology,” added the Qatari foreign minister.
Al Attiyah also hailed the bilateral relations between Tehran and Doha, saying, “Iran is our neighbor, and from the earliest days, we have been encouraging to solve this nuclear issue with Iran amicably and peacefully.”
The senior Qatari official also pointed to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s trip to Doha in December last year, saying he plans to pay an official visit to the Islamic Republic “soon.”
