Iran respects Moldova’s territorial integrity, Iranian deputy foreign minister

Iran has an attitude of great respect for the territorial integrity of Moldova and looks at the Transnistrian conflict from this angle, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ramin Mehmanparast. The Iranian official answered this way Info-Prim Neo’s question how well the Government of his country is informed about the frozen conflict that started in Moldova 20 years ago and if it has a position in this respect. “Our position on the resolution of regional crises and conflicts is based on the conviction that the negotiations are the best platform for solving them. We employ this principle in our attempts to contribute to the settlement of the regional conflicts existing around us. We think that all the countries must make effort to use the negotiations as an instrument for solving problems and for cooperation. What is important for us is the territorial integrity of the states. There may be forces in the world that can create crises and conflicts with the aim of damaging the relations between different countries. “We have an attitude of great respect for the territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova. Iran was among the first countries that recognized Moldova’s independence in 1991. We believe that all the countries must focus on their development in conditions of calmness, security and prosperity,” said the Iranian official. The statement was made in a meeting of Ramin Mehmanparast and the delegation of Moldovan journalists who paid a fact-finding visit to Iran. Asked in the same connection by another member of the delegation -- the representative of the news portal kommersant.md – if Iran gives priority to the principle of territorial integrity of the states or to the principle of self-determination of the nations, the Iranian official answered unequivocally: “Iran supports the territorial integrity of countries”. In another development, the Iranian deputy foreign minister welcomed the Moldovan deputy agriculture minister’s recent visit to Iran and voiced hope that his counterpart will also visit Iran. “For my part, I’m ready to make an invitation to my Moldovan counterpart. In general, we support the visits by delegations of different levels of Moldova. We are willing to develop cooperation relations and I’m confident that your officials’ visits to Iran and our officials’ visits to Moldova will produce good results,” said Ramin Mehmanparast. The Moldovan journalists’ fact-finding visit to Iran was made at the invitation of the independent Iranian news agency “Fars”.