Iran, Russia to continue to protect Syria: Official
Tehran (KNA) - Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, says Iran coordinates its military presence in Syria with Moscow and Damascus.
Velayati made the remarks in Moscow Friday amid reports that Iran's role in Syria will be a key item at a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump in Helsinki on Monday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Putin in Moscow Wednesday, saying after the meeting, "Our opinion is known that Iran needs to leave Syria." Velayati said Iran and Russia's presence in Syria will continue to protect the country against terrorist groups and America's aggression.
They "will immediately leave if Iraqi and Syrian governments want it, not because of Israel and America's pressure," he added. Velayati touched on the objectives of the Israeli leader's visit to Moscow where he "repeated his delusional and threadbare accusations against Iran," state news agency IRNA reported. "The process of developing relations between Iran and Russia is not one-sided and therefore, the irrelevant, meaningless and interventionist claims made by Netanyahu do not affect Iran-Russia relations," he said.
Velayati, the Leader's adviser on international affairs, traveled to Moscow on Wednesday to convey a message from Ayatollah Khamenei and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's written letter to President Putin.
Source: PressTV