Diplomat: Iran, Russia Share Stances on Syria

Tehran and Moscow have identical views on Syria, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian told IRNA in London on Tuesday.

He said Iran and Russia have backed the fight against terrorism in Syria and completion of political processes to end a lingering crisis in the Arab country.

Since the beginning of crisis in Syria, Tehran and Moscow have lent support for the Syrian people and government, for the role of leadership in that country and also for the opposition that is committed to a political solution, Amir Abdollahian added.

He also pointed to an apparent change in the views of the US, the EU and Britain on the developments in Syria, saying their stances seem to have become more compatible with the realities on the ground.

The Iranian diplomat is visiting Britain for talks on a range of issues in the Middle East, including the scourge of terrorism and a drawn-out war in Syria.

Syria has been entangled in civil war since March 2011. The ISIL Takfiri group now controls parts of the Arab country, mostly in the east.

In the past four and half years, more than 240,000 people have died in Syria -overwhelmingly civilians- and around 4 million Syrian people are now refugees in other countries. Around 8 million others have been displaced internally.

Since late September, Russia has been carrying out bombings against the ISIL terrorist group in Syria, after Russia’s parliament granted President Putin authorization to deploy the country's air force abroad.