No connection between Iran-5+1 talks and Syrian issue: envoy

17 April 2012 | 16:56 Code : 1900166 Latest Headlines

TEHRAN, April 17 (MNA) – Iranian Ambassador to Syria Mohammad Reza Sheibani has denied the claims that the recent talks between Iran and the six major powers yielded positive results because the two sides had struck a deal on Syria.

“These rumors have no basis in fact. There is no connection between the Syrian issue and nuclear negotiations,” Sheibani told the Tehran Times on Monday when asked about the rumors that the talks between Tehran and the 5+1 group (the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany) in Istanbul on Saturday were successful due to Iran’s retreat from its policy on Syria.

“In addition, the West’s plot against Syria has failed, and the resistance front has been victorious, so how is it possible that the winning side retreats?”

Sheibani also said that the Islamic Republic will never agree on a deal that may undermine the interests of the people of the region.

He added that Iran once entered into negotiations with the United States in order to defend the interests of the Iraqi people.

At the time, Iranian political leaders did not allow the negotiators to strike a deal which might threaten the Iraqi nation’s interests, he said.