TEHRAN – President Hassan Rouhani and his Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif have urged restraint by Moscow and Ankara on the downing of the Russian warplane by Turkey.

On Tuesday, Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border. Turkey said it downed the warplane after it violated Turkey’s airspace. However Russia said the fighter jet was downed over Syrian territory.

“Russia and Turkey are both friend and neighbor of the Islamic Republic of Iran and it is important for us that our neighbors have friendly ties,” Rouahni said told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

However, Rouhani said warplanes are not “toys to be shot down” and described the act as “very dangerous”.

Rouhani called on Turkey to be “careful about the situation” due to its sensitivity.

He added that Russia and Turkey should take “cautionary actions”, prevent reoccurrence of such events and be patient enough.

The Iranian president also said that “all the regional countries should support a country that is fighting the terrorists”.

Terrorism is the main threat to the Middle East region and has undermined regional security, he said, adding that efforts should be focused on countering terrorism.

The act further complicated international efforts to battle the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant militants in Syria.

“We call for restraint, because these developments benefit the terrorists,” Foreign Minister Zarif said during a joint press conference with Luxembourgish Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn in Tehran.

Zarif said that a “serious and constructive” policy should be adopted to boost stability and fight terrorism and extremism in the world.

Iranian Majlis speaker also called the Turkish act in downing the Russian warplane a “great mistake” and the United State’s support for this act a “greater mistake”.
Such moves will only lead to a spread and conflagration of conflicts in the region and deflect attention from campaign against terrorists, Larijani said in a meeting with the visiting Luxembourgish Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn.

In a telephone conversation, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that increasing tension in war-hit Syria will send a “wrong signal” to terrorist groups that they can go on with their crimes.

In a telephone call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday, Zarif said such incidents will further “escalate the tension and complicate the situation” in Syria.

The move will send a signal to terrorist groups that they can continue their vicious acts against Syria and other parts of the world by taking advantage of the rift between influential players.

NA/PA