Speaking at a news conference late on Thursday afternoon, Nebenzia said both Iran and Syria are members of the United Nations and Iran is there at the request of the legal government of Damascus. Therefore, Iran’s presence in Syria is perfectly legal and legitimate.
Nebenzia added: "Nobody can deny the issue whether they like it or not."
He went on to note that many countries are accused of playing a destabilizing role in the Middle East region. Nebenzia recalled that Iran has for a long time announced that it is open for dialogue, with regional countries, discussing regional issues and developments.Despite Iran’s readiness for holding talks, other parties have not shown any interest in this regard, he said.
Turning to America's military presence in Syria, the Russian ambassador to UN emphasized that US presence in Syria is illegitimate, since the US has not been invited by the Syrian government.
Noting that some 15,000 Daesh and Al-Nusra Front terrorists are still present in south of Syria, he said concerns of Syria's neighbours are understandable and putting an end to Daesh's terror attacks, requires collective cooperation.
