TEHRAN - Ali Akbar Velayati, the senior foreign policy advisor to the Leader, said on Saturday that Iran has not changed its position on Syria and still supports the legitimate Syrian government.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s view on Syria has not changed and it still supports the legal government of Bashar al-Assad,” Velayati told reporters after a meeting in Tehran with Ricardo Cabrisas, the Cuban president’s representative.

It is the Syrians who should determine the future of the country and no one is permitted to interfere in Syria’s domestic affairs, Velayati asserted. 

He added, “The presence of countries like the U.S. and Saudi Arabia in Syria that interfere in Syria’s internal affairs without permission of the Syrian government is illegal.”

Saudi Arabia is widely believed to be the main financial and ideological supporter of militants fighting the Syrian government. 
According to Press TV, Riyadh also backs the so-called High Negotiations Committee (HNC), an opposition militant group which has so far turned down two UN proposals to resolve the Syrian conflict politically.

‘Syria’s victory against militants imminent’ 

Velayati, a former foreign minister who is currently the chairman of the Strategic Research Center of the Expediency Council, said the victory of the Syrian government against militants is “imminent”.

‘Iran is a real friend of Turkey’

The veteran politician also called Iran a “real friend” of Turkey and said that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif took a trip to Turkey at the proper time.

“The meeting with Erdogan [the Turkish president] and the country’s foreign minister [Mevlut Cavusoglu] was a valuable thing to do,” Velayati noted.

Zarif took a one-day trip to Turkey on Friday.

During his joint press conference with the Turkish foreign minister, Zarif hailed a thaw in relations between Turkey and Russia and praised their promise to make new efforts to stem the conflict in Syria.

NA/PA