Iranian Speaker Hails Syrian Govenment's Peace Process Efforts
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani lauded the Damascus government’s wise approach to settling a six-year civil war in Syria politically, describing an upcoming round of peace talks in Kazakhstan as a major step towards stability in the Arab country.
“Politically, the Syrian leadership and government’s behavior for the political settlement of the crisis has been quite wise,” Larijani said in a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem in Tehran on Sunday.
Emphasizing the Syrian-Syrian nature of the political negotiations to resolve the crisis, Larijani said Iran and Russia would also contribute to the peace talks with planning and coordination.
The speaker further reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to supporting the Syrian nation until an ultimate victory against terrorism.
For his part, Muallem said the battle against terrorist groups requires Muslim unity and concerted action by the Islamic world countries.
With “serious international will” in the fight against terrorism, terrorist groups will be eradicated in Syria in less than a year, the diplomat added.
The Syrian foreign minister arrived in Tehran on Saturday for a series of meetings after a recent ceasefire in Syria, which has been negotiated between Russia, Iran, Turkey, the Damascus government and the Syrian opposition.
The truce explicitly excludes groups deemed by the United Nations Security Council as "terrorists." This rules out Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, the former al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria that used to be known as Jabhat al-Nusra.
The ceasefire will be followed by a new round of peace talks between the Syrian government and the opposition in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana.
Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including Daesh, currently controlling parts of it.