Tehran, Moscow Underline Need for Political Solution to Syrian Crisis
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Senior Iranian and Russian diplomats in a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday underscored the need for settling Syria’s crisis through political means.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari and his Russian counterpart Mikhail Bogdanov in their meeting discussed regional developments including Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq and Libya, with a focus on the situation in Syria.
The two sides reiterated the need for politically resolving the crisis in Syria and rejected any military solution.
They stressed that the fate of Syria and its government structure should be determined by the people of the Arab country in a calm atmosphere and without foreign intervention.
Jaberi Ansari and Bogdanov also highlighted the need for delivering aid to civilians in different parts of the war-hit country.
The meeting comes after a ceasefire in Syria brokered by the US and Russia began at sundown on Monday.
The deal, agreed to on Friday by US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, aims to put an end to the fighting and move toward a political transition after more than five years of war between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebel groups fighting to depose him.
The truce does not apply to the terrorist groups Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as al-Nusra Front.
Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including Daesh, 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.