Iran Urges Guarantees for Lasting Ceasefire in Aleppo
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A top Iranian official called for guarantees that a truce in Syria’s recently-liberated city of Aleppo will hold and armed militants will stay away from it, also highlighting the need for evacuation of civilians from Foua and Kefraya, two villages in Idlib’s northern suburbs.
Given the misconduct by the US and certain regional countries in previous rounds of Aleppo peace talks, the necessary guarantees should be provided now for a lasting ceasefire in Aleppo and for armed militants to stay away from the city suburbs, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani said in a meeting in Tehran on Sunday with Alexander Lavrentiev, the Russian president’s special envoy on Middle East affairs.
Shamkhani, who is also the coordinator of Iran’s political, military and security measures in cooperation with Russia and Syria, called for efforts to boost relief aid for the people of war-ravaged Aleppo, and prepare the ground for the safe return of residents under the Syrian government’s supervision.
The top Iranian official further decried the “Western-Arab-Hebrew” axis for focusing all political and media capabilities on making up and publishing “false news stories” about civilian casualties in Aleppo while avoiding the merest hint of the need for evacuation of Foua and Kefraya residents who have been besieged by terrorists from more than three years.
Shamkhani hailed the recapture of the strategic city of Aleppo from terrorists as a result of an initiative by Iran, Russia, Syria and the resistance front, saying the development discredited the policy of Western powers and their regional partners in creating, arming and funding Takfiri terrorist groups.
He further called for closer interaction between Tehran, Moscow and Damascus in the fight against terrorism, considering the political and military complexities of the crisis in Syria and the need for joint action to settle the conflict.
The Russian envoy, for his part, specified Russia’s policies to boost coordination with Iran and Syria in the military, political and security spheres.
The Syrian army took nearly all remaining terrorist-held parts of Aleppo this week after a four-year battle.
Hundreds of foreign-backed terrorists have surrendered in Aleppo in recent days. Following the Syrian army’s significant gains on the ground, people took to the streets of Aleppo on Wednesday to celebrate the city’s recapture.
Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including Daesh (ISIL), controlling parts of it.