Mogherini to hold talks in Riyadh, Tehran on Syrian crisis

BRUSSELS, Oct 28 (KUNA) -- EU High Representative Federica Mogherini will visit Tehran, Iran, tomorrow Saturday and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Monday for senior level talks on the Syrian crisis.
A statement from her office here this evening said Mogherini's visit comes in the framework of decisions taken by the EU Foreign Affairs Council and the EU summit last week to undertake outreach to key actors in the region on the Syrian crisis.
Talks with regional interlocutors have already begun and are also planned after these visits. Mogherini will continue to liaise constantly with the UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura in pursuing this outreach, added the statement.
On 18 October, she met with the Qatar Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani in Brussels. The meeting discussed importance of deepening of bilateral cooperation with Qatar, including on regional issues and particularly on Syria.
Meanwhile, Mogherini met in Nicosia today with Ioannis Kassoulides, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus and discussed bilateral ties and developments in the region.
"Our role as European Union is to accompany the leaders and their determination in a way that can be beneficial for all Cypriots to live in a united, European Cyprus," she told reporters after the meeting.
"We stand fully behind their efforts, their talks towards a settlement under the UN's auspices and added that she is "very much encouraged by their determination to continue and intensify talks as the beginning of November in Switzerland; overcome these challenges and reach an agreement on a comprehensive settlement even by the end of this year," she added. (end) nk.bs