Iran said the regional states’ support for the deal is an indication of their determination to promote diplomatic approaches in the region…reports Asian Lite News
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani has welcomed the support voiced in a statement by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for the detente between Tehran and Riyadh.
Kanaani made the remarks on Thursday in a statement published on the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s website, reacting to a statement issued at the end of the 155th session of the GCC Ministerial Council on Wednesday in Riyadh, in which the council hailed the recent China-brokered agreement signed between Iran and Saudi Arabia on the normalisation of relations after seven years of severed ties.
He expressed hope that the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia would play an effective role in ensuring regional stability, peace and development and promoting dialogue-based approaches in the region, Xinhua news agency reported.
Kanaani once again hailed China’s hosting of the latest round of the rapprochement talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the country’s contribution to the signing of the agreement, appreciating effective efforts by Baghdad and Muscat toward the detente between Tehran and Riyadh.
He said the regional states’ support for the agreement is an indication of their determination to promote diplomatic approaches in the region.
In its statement, the GCC Ministerial Council said the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran is a step toward establishing relations between countries based on understanding, mutual respect, good neighbourliness, respect for sovereignty, and non-interference in internal affairs.
It also highlighted that the agreement aligns with the charters of the United Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and international laws and norms.
China, Saudi Arabia and Iran announced on March 10 that the latter two had reached a deal which includes the agreement to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and missions within two months.
FMs to meet soon
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud have agreed to meet at the earliest opportunity to prepare the ground for the reopening of embassies and consulate generals between the two countries, the Foreign Ministry in Tehran announced on Thursday.
The two Ministers discussed the issues in a phone call to congratulate each other on the starting of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry as saying.
The Saudi Foreign Minister pointed to the positive achievements of the Beijing meeting, in which the two countries signed an agreement on the normalisation of ties after seven years, and highlighted the necessity of meeting his Iranian counterpart in the near future and the reopening of the embassies.
Meanwhile, Amir-Abdollahian expressed satisfaction with the detente between Tehran and Riyadh, expressing Iran’s readiness to develop and strengthen bilateral relations.
China, Saudi Arabia and Iran on March 10 announced that Riyadh and Tehran had reached a deal that included the agreement to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and missions within two months.
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud invited Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to visit Riyadh.
Following the agreement to restore diplomatic relations, the two nations also announced they will reopen embassies within two months and re-establish trade and security relations.
Saudi Arabia cut ties in January 2016 after demonstrators stormed its embassy in Tehran after Riyadh had executed the prominent Shia Muslim cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, who was convicted of terror-related offences.
Since then, tensions between the Sunni- and Shia-led neighbours have often been high, with each regarding the other as a threatening power seeking regional dominance.
They have been on opposing sides of several regional conflicts, including the civil wars in Syria and Yemen.