Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the world is in dire need of "dialogue" and "interaction" more than ever.
As part of bilateral meetings with his counterparts in the P5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany) and after meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Geneva, the foreign minister headed to Berlin on Thursday to confer with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
In a joint press conference with the German foreign minister before the meeting, Zarif emphasized that the threat of terrorism and extremism "knows no border", adding, "The world today needs dialogue and interaction more than ever," IRNA reported.
Appreciating the German foreign minister and nation for their warm and friendly hospitality, Zarif said, "Germany has had long-standing and cordial relations with Iran and in view of efforts which have been made, we hope to expand bilateral relations in all spheres as in the past."
He pointed out, "We are going to discuss the ways to help end war, bloodshed, terror and extremism in Syria and also how to help the Iraqi government in the battle against terrorists, while making effort to change the situation in favor of the Iraqi nation and the regional peace and security."
The senior diplomat touched on the negotiations between Iran and the major powers on Tehran's nuclear program and said, "I am sure that with the active and effective participation of Germany and assistance of Mr. Steinmeier as a veteran diplomat, we can make good progress in our talks."
Decisive Phase
The German foreign minister, for his part, referred to the first round of nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 this year, which is scheduled to be held on Sunday, and said, "We believe that the talks have entered a new decisive phase after a decade of negotiations."
Steinmeier added, "I cannot deny that we have made a good progress in the nuclear talks with the new Iranian negotiating team over the past year and managed to reach an interim deal in 2013."
Referring to the crises in the Middle East and the self-declared Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, the German diplomat said, "Today, thanks to (efforts by) Iran and other neighboring states, a government has been established in Iraq which has succeeded in fostering national cohesion in the fight against IS terrorist group."
He also said, "I would be so pleased if Iran could play a constructive role to (help) end the crisis in Syria."
