Vatican diplomat defends Iranian position on Syria

The Iranian Ambassador to Beirut Ghadanfar Rokn Abady has claimed that Lebanon’s chief Vatican diplomat strongly refused to provide any financial support to Syria’s armed groups. Bishop Gabriele Caccia, the Vatican Ambassador to Lebanon, instead sided with the Iranian approach of reconciliation and negotiation to resolve the current Syrian crisis. The Mehr News Agency quoted Bishop Caccia, saying Pope Benedict XVI has called for dialogue and reconciliation as a means of resolving the situation inside Syria, meanwhile refusing to provide armed groups with financial support. “Only the Syrian people have the right to decide the destiny of their country through democratic means,” he claimed. Bishop Caccia praised the Iranian six-point initiative, which aims to achieve peace and security in Syria, stressing that the negotiating route towards a political solution is the only way to end the Syrian crisis.