The EU's foreign affairs chief also expressed optimism on the new era of Iran/Western relations.

Federica Mogherini: "Only Syria diplomacy can defeat ISIS"

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/11539062/n003-0387-en.srt

Iran has been welcomed  into the international fold

Busy times for Europe and its  foreign affairs chief, Federica Mogherini.

She sat down with EuroparlTV  and our first question:

What could be on the way after France  invoked an EU treaty solidarity clause

because it's the first time  we use an article of the treaty.

I believe this has a very important  significance politically,

because it means that  also in the field of defence

we can use the articles of the treaties...

To develop the Common Security  and Defence Policy?

To develop it even more because we do  have 17 EU missions and operations

around the world already. So we do have  a capacity there, out there already.

But there are articles of the treaties  that we can use even more.

But what about a combined military  response by the Member States of Europe?

I do not see a future EU military intervention  in Syria or in Iraq.

I said this several times. The European  Union has a role, a crucial one,

on Syria and the fight against Daesh  on two tracks.

One is the humanitarian assistance  we give inside Syria and around Syria.

And second is the support  and the facilitation

we are providing for the political talks  to try to sort the crisis in Syria.

There are talks that will happen  in Geneva on January 25

involving all the key players  from Russia to the EU to Iran.

What we have done immediately after  having reached an agreement with Iran

on their nuclear programme,  after the summer,

we have pushed for forming  an international support group for Syria

with all the relevant actors in the region  and the international scenes.

The talks among the Syrians that are  supposed to start in a few days in Geneva

are going to be the starting point  of, on one side, a political transition...

So, yes, a transition means that you start  in one place and you end up in another one.

among all those that are fighting  the internal civil war in Syria.

to effectively fight against Daesh  and defeat Daesh.

But Bashar al-Assad specifically,  can you see him continuing?

The international community  does not have a common stance.

You know that.  Iran and Russia have one position,

the EU, our American friends, others  in the region do not have the same position.

The important point is that,  rather than simply stating,

as we have done for four or five years now,

that Bashar al-Assad has to leave,  and he is still there,

we start a process  that allows a transition to begin.

The only way of defeating Daesh,  not only fighting but defeating it,

is to stop the civil war  and unite forces against the major threat.

Changing gears and coming to a former,  you could say, international pariah, Iran,

how do you see relations with Iran  developing and how good is it for Europe?

From an economic point of view  that's quite obvious.

Europe has always been the strongest actor

in an economic or commercial scene in Iran  before the sanctions were introduced

It's mainly for the European businesses  to go back to invest

But I see a lot of possible  fields of cooperation

in the field of research and science  and technology or culture.

We have plenty of fields  where cooperation is possible.

None of them is excluded.  The real success will come

when this agreement  will manage to open the way

for different, more cooperative relations

between Iran, Saudi Arabia and other  countries in the Gulf and the region.

where the West has to choose  between Sunni versus Shia?

Tensions are there today  and this is self-evident.

and there is a serious risk that the bilateral  tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran

could develop into something bigger  for the region and for the rest of the world.

But on the other side,  look back one year,

two years ago...  -To the relations with Iran...

Relations with Iran were  at a completely different moment.

We were working on that  but we were very far away.

The sanctions were in place,  and what happened just a few days ago

with the release of prisoners  of US citizenship in Iran

So things can change  and change in a positive way.

Sanctions on Russia  have just been rolled over in December.

The European Union was, is  and stays united on this,

on the fact that this is linked to the full  implementation of the Minsk agreements.

I hope in the future  to improve relations with Russia.

On other issues we work  in a constructive way with Russia.

Think of the Iranian deal,  we did it together.

Think of the Middle East situation,  we work together.

Think of the situation in Libya, all the work  we do in the UN Security Council,

On the Ukrainian issue, on the annexation  of Crimea, our policy stays the same,

but our wish is that our relations  with Russia could improve

and the Minsk agreement  be fully implemented.

Ms Mogherini, thank you  for joining us on EuroparlTV.