Irans Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi (R) and his Lebanese counterpart Adnan Mansour attend a joint press conference in Tehran on June 22, 2013.[/caption]Lebanons Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour is in the Iranian capital Tehran to discuss bilateral ties and regional developments with Iranian officials. The visit comes at the invitation of Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi.
After the meeting, Irans foreign minister highlighted years of bilateral relations between the two nations and their people.
Ali Akbar Salehi said, "Iran and Lebanon enjoy years of mutual ties, and bilateral political relations are at best now and this positive atmosphere should be used toward implementing all agreements signed in the past. And we both agreed to remove obstacles in the way of these agreements in different fields. Visits by Iranians to Lebanon have been made easier by visa issuance at entry and this has led to many Iranian tourists visiting Lebanon. This will help in better ties between the people of Iran and Lebanon."
The visit took place amid growing concerns over the implication of the unrest in Syria on the region and also on Lebanon.
On the issue of Syria, Both foreign ministers agreed that arming the foreign backed insurgents in the country is in no way going to help bring back peace to the country and will only worsen the situation in the region.
His Lebanese counterpart Adnan Mansour for his part said, "The events will have repercussions on regional countries, since the beginning of the crisis, Lebanon has maintained its stance on the Syrian situation, while not interfering, the events should not have a negative affect on Lebanon. We seek in stability and peace in Syria as we are part of that region and I reiterate that sending weapons will not help Syrian interests or the countries in the region. Sending weapons means the continuation of violence, and that means the destruction of Syria and its integrity and it will also destroy the region."
Iran's foreign minister expressed Tehrans readiness to take part in future talks on Syria namely the second round of talks in Geneva, if it takes place. Salehi says some countries have asked Iran to take part in the talks due to its regional influence. Still, he says Iran will not accept any foreign solution to be imposed on the Syrian people.
Both Iran and Lebanon pointed to dialog for finding a solution to Syria. The Lebanese foreign minister says talks should include the government of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, as they are seeking a solution for the country.
The Lebanese foreign minister will meet other Iranian officials in the coming days. Adnan Mansour was Lebanon's top diplomat in Iran for eight years.
By Press TV
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