Zarif, Greek counterpart discuss latest regional developments

The phone talk came in continuation of Zarif’s consultations with his regional and international counterparts and senior officials after Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, along with Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.

Earlier, he also discussed latest developments in the region in separate telephone conversations with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and his Qatari counterpart as well as the Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khaled al-Sabah, and his Lebanese and Algerian, Turkish, Indonesian, Iraqi and Omani counterparts.

The top diplomat started his all-out effort to address the crisis immediately after the news came in that the Arab states have moved to break off ties with the Persian Gulf emirate, and he called on Persian Gulf states to settle problems through dialogue.

He wrote in his twitter page on Monday, “Neighbors are permanent; geography can’t be changed.” “Coercion is never the solution. Dialogue is imperative, especially during blessed Ramadan.”

Meanwhile, Zarif exchanged views with Foreign Minister of Qatar Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani on the country's problem with the Arab states.

In an unprecedented move, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, along with Egypt, have severed relations with Qatar accusing the gas rich country of supporting terrorist organizations. The accusation was rejected by Doha.

8072**1394