In a meeting with visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Tehran on Monday, Ayatollah Khamenei said the US has a long-term plot to take control of the whole of West Asia by dominating Syria and then expanding its dominion over the entire region, saying, “This plot is a threat to all nations and countries, particularly Russia and Iran.”
The Leader hailed Russia’s influential role in regional issues, particularly in the Syrian conflict, and said Moscow’s decisions and measures in dealing with developments in Damascus enhanced the regional and international standing of Russia and President Putin in particular.
“The Americans have always been trying to place their rivals in a position of passivity but you have foiled such a policy,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
The US and its followers are seeking to achieve through political means and negotiations the objectives that they have failed to obtain via military approaches, the Leader said, adding vigilance and a proactive stance are necessary to prevent this goal from being realized.
Ayatollah Khamenei said Washington’s insistence on the ouster of Syria’s legitimate and democratically-elected President Bashar al-Assad is among the weaknesses of the US policies.
The Leader said the Syrian president, in a national election, succeeded in winning the majority of votes of the Syrian people with “different political, religious and ethnic” viewpoints and emphasized that the US has no right to ignore the Syrians’ choice.
Ayatollah Khamenei said every solution on the Syrian crisis should be endorsed by the country’s nation and officials.
The Leader stated that Washington’s direct and indirect aid to terrorist groups, including Daesh, is among other obvious flaws in Washington’s policies.
Washington’s “cooperation with countries which have no standing in the public opinion of regional and world [nations] due to their support for terrorists shows that the Americans have no honorable diplomacy,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
The Leader stressed that with the particular exception of the nuclear issue, Iran does not and will not engage in mutual negotiations with the US about Syria or any other issues.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the proper settlement of the Syrian issue will be “very important” and will play an effective role on determining the future of the region.
If the terrorists who are committing atrocious crimes in Syria are not crushed, the expanse of their activities will spill over into the Central Asia and other parts of the world, the Leader warned.
Iran-Russia relations
Elsewhere, the Leader welcomed the further enhancement of Tehran-Moscow cooperation on bilateral, regional and international issues.
Ayatollah Khamenei commended Russia’s efforts on the Iranian nuclear issue and said, “This issue came to a conclusion but we have no trust in the Americans and are monitoring the US government’s attitude and performance in this regard with open eyes.”
The Leader said President Putin and Iranian officials are determined to expand mutual relations and added that the two countries should further improve cooperation, particularly in economy.
Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the appropriate level of cooperation between Tehran and Moscow in politics and security and said the Russian president has pursued a “very good and innovative” stance on different issues, particularly over the past 1.5 years.
Political solution to Syria crisis
The Russian president, for his part, said Tehran and Moscow have very close positions on the Syrian crisis and added that his country emphasizes that the conflict should be solved through the adoption of political approaches and resignation to the demands of the Syrian people and groups.
No country has the right to impose its views on the Syrian people and make decisions about the structure of the government and the nation’s president on behalf of them, Putin said.
He added that Russia would proceed with its airstrikes against terrorist groups in Syria and stressed the importance of Tehran-Moscow cooperation about solving the Syrian crisis through political approaches.
Putin praised his country’s very active cooperation with Iran on security issues and the settlement of regional and global crises.
At the end of the meeting, the Russian president presented Ayatollah Khamenei with one of the oldest manuscripts of the Holy Qur’an as a very precious gift. The Leader thanked Putin for the gift.
