A senior Foreign Ministry official says consultations will be held with British officials during his trip to London on extremism and terrorism, the refugee crisis and humanitarian aid to war-affected Middle East people as well as conflicts in Yemen and Syria.
Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian made the remark upon arrival at London's Heathrow Airport on Monday, IRNA reported.
"Tehran and Moscow take the same position with respect to regional issues, especially when it comes to Syria," Amir Abdollahian asserted, reiterating that Iran and Russia support not only Syria's government but also the role of President Bashar al-Assad in restoring peace to the region through diplomacy.
Pointing to his last trip to Moscow in September and talks with Mikhail Bogdanov, Russian president's special envoy for the Middle East, the senior diplomat said, "Due to rapid political changes in the region, we discussed the latest developments once more a couple of days ago."
According to the deputy minister, there are disagreements over Middle East challenges, yet all in all it seems as if US officials and European Union member states, including Britain, have started to take more realistic views concerning the stark realities in Syria.
"I reckon having a proper understanding of the ongoing events in Syria can lead to taking a right decision to resume political negotiations which seem to have reached an impasse."
Modified Attitude to Syria
Asked about how realistic Britain's view regarding the Syria conflict is, Amir Abdollahian noted, "Seemingly British officials are modifying their attitudes; nonetheless, how correct we are will depend on the outcome of our talks, which hopefully will bear fruit."
On Tehran's position on the refugee crisis triggered by wars in the Middle East and North Africa, the diplomat stated that Iran is after quick restoration of peace and stability to the war-torn region, the result of which would help end to the influx of migrants to Europe.
Such a policy will be of great benefit to both the people in the Middle East and those states which are faced with refugee-related problems, he said.
Amir Abdollahian believes that regional challenges are so entangled that it is impossible to separate them, for instance terrorism is a wave spreading from Syria and Iraq to Yemen.
Some key regional players are oblivious to the interrelation between the exciting issues, a fact which means there is something wrong with the way they look at the events, he added.
It is the first trip by a senior diplomat to Britain after the two sides reopened their embassies in August.
