Moscow Talks for Concerted Peace Efforts in Syria: Iran’s FM
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif who is in Moscow for a trilateral meeting said the negotiations are aimed at coordinating efforts for peaceful settlement of crisis in Syria.
“We have always stressed the need for comprehensive ceasefire (in Syria), broad humanitarian aid deliveries (to Syrians) and finding a political solution to the Syrian issue,” Zarif told reporters upon his arrival in Moscow on Friday, for a trilateral meeting with his Russian and Syrian counterparts.
“The countries favoring peace and confronting the Takfiri groups in Syria should try to promote, in a more coordinated manner, the peaceful approaches with the aim of ending hostilities,” the top Iranian diplomat explained, adding that the Moscow talks would be part of such efforts.
Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including Daesh (ISIL), currently controlling parts of it.
According to a report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.
In the meantime, Iran and Russia have remained close allies of Syria and support its legitimate government in the face of foreign-backed militancy.
Tehran insists that the Syrian nation is the only side that has the right to shape the future of its own country, rejecting foreign intervention with the use of force.
