Sako to Zarif: Quiet diplomacy is the best way to solve problems

BAGHDAD - INA

Patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphael Sacco confirmed today, Tuesday, that quiet diplomacy is the way to solve problems, not wars, while Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif pointed to the importance of Iraq’s pivotal role in the region and bridging viewpoints.

The media of the Patriarchate of the Chaldeans said, in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that "Patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako received today Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif and his accompanying delegation at the patriarchal headquarters in Mansour."

According to the statement, Sako valued "Zarif's focus during his meetings with Iraqi officials on dialogue and diplomatic solutions," noting that "quiet diplomacy is the guarantor of solving problems, not wars that leave nothing but dead and devastation, because wars end where they began."

For his part, Zarif stressed "the importance of civilizational dialogue and the pivotal role of Iraq in the region and the convergence of viewpoints," praising "the success of Pope Francis' historic visit to Iraq and the importance of his messages, which were not only to the Iraqis, but to the whole region."

Zarif mentioned the Pope's visit to Najaf and his meeting with the supreme religious authority, Ali al-Sistani, stressing "the role of religious leaders in consolidating dialogue of religions to serve humanity and dismantling extremist ideology. Religions are for tolerance, love and respect for diversity."