Saudi Arabia-Iran talks pave way for realizing peace, stability in Middle East: Chinese FM

(ECNS) -- The Saudi Arabia-Iran talks held in Beijing have turned a new page in the bilateral relations and paved the way for realizing peace and stability in the Middle East, Said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Tuesday.

In response to the noble initiative of President Xi Jinping of China's support for developing good neighborly relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the delegations from the two countries recently held talks in Beijing, which yielded important outcomes, Wang said.

An agreement was reached and a joint tripartite statement was released after the talks. Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to resume diplomatic relations and the three countries expressed their keenness to exert all efforts towards enhancing regional and international peace and security.

As noted by Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, it is a victory for dialogue and a victory for peace, Wang said.

He stressed that the international acclaim fully demonstrates that lasting peace, stability and security is the shared aspiration of regional countries and that upholding strategic independence and seeking solidarity and cooperation has strong backing from people worldwide.

The talks set a fine example for resolving problems and disagreements between countries through dialogue and consultation, Wang said.

No matter how complex the issues are or how thorny the challenges may be, equal-footed dialogue on the basis of mutual respect will lead to a mutually acceptable solution, said the spokesperson.

The Middle East belongs to the people of the region and its future must be determined by the people of Middle East countries, he said, adding that countries in the region have China’s support to carry forward the spirit of independence, strengthen solidarity and coordination, and join hands to make the Middle East more peaceful, stable and prosperous.

He pointed out that the Beijing dialogue is a robust and successful effort to put the Global Security Initiative (GSI) into practice. Tactics like “bolster one and bash the other” or “divide and rule” or “bloc confrontation” have never been proven to work on security issues. The viable approach to realize lasting peace and security in the region and beyond is to uphold the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, pursue the long-term objective of building a security community, and follow a new path to security featuring dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance and win-win over zero-sum.  

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang noted that China will be a promoter of security and stability, partner for development and prosperity and supporter of the Middle East’s development through solidarity.

China will continue to contribute its insights and proposals to realizing peace and tranquility in the Middle East and play its role as a responsible major country in this process, Wang said. 

It is our hope that more and more countries will join us in implementing the GSI to realize enduring peace and universal security, he added.