"Last year we were able to take the first small steps towards the Syrian settlement. But after the executions in Saudi Arabia, and the attacks on Saudi diplomatic mission in Tehran and complications that arose in relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, we may not be fully rolled back, but… much has been threatened, " Steinmeier said during a press conference at the Foreign Press Union.
In early January, a diplomatic row erupted in the Middle East, with Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia severing diplomatic ties with the region’s main Shiite power, Iran. The crisis came after protesters stormed the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Iran in response to Riyadh's execution of prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
Disagreements between Saudi Arabia and Iran are hampering the fight against terrorism and efforts to settle the Syrian conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Germany's Bild newspaper last week.
Civil war in Syria is still far from being settled, Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Tuesday.
"We are currently far from settling the Syrian conflict," Steinmeier said at a press conference at the German Association of the Foreign Press (VAP).
Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with the army loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting several opposition factions and militant groups, including the Nusra Front (Jabhat al-Nusra) and Daesh, a terrorist group banned in a range of countries including Russia.
A US-led international coalition of around 60 nations has been conducting airstrikes against IS targets in Iraq and Syria since 2014, without the approval of the Syrian authorities and the UN Security Council.
Russia has been conducting a separate air campaign against the group's positions in Syria since September 30, following a request from Assad.
