Zarif: Diplomacy, battlefield going shoulder to shoulder

Zarif who was speaking at the opening ceremony of the Foreign Ministry’s "Iranian Diplomacy Society" said that diplomacy is not a rival of the military power, as some people have assumed. They also assume that if they accept that diplomacy is important then we have surrendered (to the enemies), but this is not true.

Diplomacy is (serving the nation) side by side of the battlefield. This building that is named after Martyr General Soleimani was the center where we held important meetings, me and Martyr Soleimani, every Tuesday when we tried to figure out how diplomacy and the battlefield can serve side by side and to decide whenever the battlefield is in need of diplomacy, we will do that, and whenever the battlefield is in need of diplomacy, we will use it, said Zarif.

The foreign minister further underscored role of Martyr Soleimani in Afghan peace talks and said were it not for Martyr Soleimani’s precious support, the talks could not achieve that much success.

As the representative of Iran in Bonn in year 2001, I was in close contact with Martyr Soleimani, he added.

The extent of Martyr Soleimani’s cooperation was greater than anyone else in success of the Bonn Agreement. Diplomacy and the battlefield are complementary of each other, not each other’s rivals, provided we accept this reality,” further emphasized Zarif.

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