TEHRAN: Iran condemned what it called foreign interference in the affairs of its closest Arab ally, Syria, on Tuesday and praised reforms President Bashar al-Assad has pledged to undertake as “problem-solving”.
“We are fundamentally against interfering in the affairs of other countries. We think it does not solve the problems but will only make them more complicated,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told a weekly news conference.
Tehran has tempered its rhetoric on Syria as the crisis there has dragged on for 10 months. At first, it wholeheartedly supported Assad’s stance against public opposition, now it is encouraging reforms to take account of popular grievances.
“The good reforms which have been announced by Syrian officials are pushing the ambience towards dialogue and solving the problems, though some countries do not like this,” Mehmanparast said.
Assad has announced the end to a draconian state of emergency, granted citizenship to many Syrian Kurds and promised parliamentary elections later this year.
On Sunday he issued the latest of several amnesties for those detained since the uprising began. (PTI)
