Iran rejects reports that it backs Russia

As Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi declared yesterday, Iran has adopted an independent stance on developments in the Caucasus.

Talking to reporters at his weekly press briefing, he added that the Caucasus region borders Iran and thus the country is sensitive to developments there. Rejecting reports that Iran backs Russia in the current crisis, he reiterated that adopting regional policies is the best possible way to settle it. Stressing that the foreign intervention would only escalate the situation, Qashqavi added that it would also make the issue more complicated. Such a move would not promote peace and stability in the sensitive Caucasus region, he stated.

Qashqavi said that Iran supplied fuel to Georgia during the country's fuel crisis last year, adding that Tehran's principled policy is based on independence and preserving national interests. “Tehran has no special tendency towards any particular power,” he reiterated. Tehran makes decisions on the basis of the principles of the Islamic Revolution as well as the national interests of its own and other regional states, he concluded.