Iran, Russia urge diplomacy to settle Syria crisis
Senior Iranian and Russian diplomats have once again reaffirmed the importance of settling the five-year-old crisis in Syria through political approaches.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his visiting Russian counterpart Mikhail Bogdanov exchanged views in Tehran on Monday about the latest developments in the region, particularly in Syria and Yemen.
The Iranian and Russian officials emphasized that the two countries must hold more consultations in an attempt to promote peace talks in Syria.
They also stressed the importance of restoring unity to Syria and maintaining the Arab country’s territorial integrity.
Amir-Abdollahian said a successful fight against terrorism needs the firm determination of all countries and an end to financial and arms assistance to terrorist groups.
Bogdanov, who is the Russian presidential envoy on the Middle East and Africa, said Tehran and Moscow must hold regular consultations to help solve regional problems through diplomatic approaches and restore stability and security to the crisis-hit countries.
He added that representatives of all Syrian parties and groups should participate in the upcoming peace talks in Geneva as a key condition for the success of the negotiations.
On March 1, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said the next round of negotiations to end the deadly conflict in the Arab country will kick off on March 9.
A ceasefire agreement in Syria, brokered by Russia and the United States, entered into force on February 27. The Syrian government accepted the terms of the truce on condition that military efforts against Daesh and the al-Nusra Front Takfiri militants, who are excluded from the ceasefire, continue.
Iran and Russia say the decision on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s fate is up to the Syrian people and that they support the Syrian army and its allies fighting militants.
The foreign-sponsored conflict in Syria, which flared in March 2011, has claimed the lives of some 470,000 people and left 1.9 million injured, according to the Syrian Center for Policy Research.
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