Iran Envoy To Stockholm Meets Swedish FM

London, Oct 23, IRNA – Ambassador of Islamic Republic of Iran in Stockholm met and conferred with Sweden’s minister of foreign affairs on various bilateral and international issues Monday evening. According to the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Sweden, Hamid-Reza Shakeri-Niasar, in the beginning of the meeting, referred to the ancient history of the and the richness of the country's culture, adding that the historical difficulties that Iranians have experienced in the course of time have paved the path for making them a tough nation to be able to resolve their problems today smoothly. Shakeri added :“by grace of God, and relying on His Immense Power, the prosperous and proud Iranian nation and the Islamic government of Iran would leave behind the difficulties ahead successfully.” He meanwhile referred to the Swedish official’s recent phone talk with his Iranian counterpart, arguing that such talks play a positive role in improvement of bilateral ties, adding, “Therefore, continuation of the process of such talks is welcomed.” The Iranian diplomat furthermore appreciated the Swedish nation and government’s balanced stands towards Iran, particularly the stands adopted by the Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt regarding some angles of the EU sanctions against Iran, elaborating on negative aspects of ultra-regional sanctions on the ordinary lives of the Iranian nation and the unjust nature of such sanctions. Elaborating on Iran’s stands regarding the nuclear energy and the verdict issued by the Supreme Leader about being religiously forbidden of manufacturing nuclear weapons, he said, that that verdict is the ultimate word for the Iranians regarding the issue that the west has been propagating about. Regarding the Syrian crisis, too, he said that Iran fully supports the joint moves and initiatives of the UN Special Envoy on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi and the Syrian government in line with safeguarding the interests of the Syrian nation. The Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, too, in the meeting referred to the 100 thousand-strong population of the Iranians living and residing in Sweden and their dynamic participation in the process of his country’s development, expressing satisfaction over the existing passionate relations between the Iranians in Sweden and their relatives back home in Iran. He meanwhile emphasized that the Swedish government is quite committed to pursue the course of talks with Iran on issues of mutual interest, announcing his affiliated embassy’s interest in continuing consultations with their Iranian counterparts./end