Iranian Official Warns of ‘Terrorists Turning into Politicians’ in Syria
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A special aide to Iran’s parliament speaker warned against plans to turn terrorists in Syria into politicians as the Damascus government and the opposition groups are going to hold peace talks in the Kazakh capital city of Astana.
“The Kazakhstan meeting initiative is remarkable, but in Syria’s political solutions, yesterday’s terrorists should not turn into today’s politicians,” Director General of International Affairs at the Iranian Parliament Hossein Amir Abdollahian said in a meeting with Syria’s ambassador to Iran, held in Tehran on Saturday.
He also described the forthcoming Astana peace talks as a good opportunity to reap political advantages of the resistance that people of Syria have shown against Takfiri terrorism over the past six years.
For his part, the Syrian envoy, Adnan Hassan Mahmoud, underscored that the meeting in Kazakhstan will include only Syrian-Syrian negotiations without any foreign interference in the process of decision-making for the Arab country’s future.
The ambassador also noted that armed groups that change their approach and adapt themselves to people’s demands will be included in the process of local and national reconciliation.
Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including Daesh (ISIL), currently controlling parts of it.
Diplomatic efforts to end fighting in Syria have gained momentum in recent weeks with the announcement of a ceasefire in the Arab country earlier this month.
The truce, which has been negotiated between Russia, Iran, Turkey, the Damascus government and the Syrian opposition, excludes terrorist groups such as Daesh and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham.
A fresh round of peace negotiations between the Syrian government and the opposition will be held in Astana on January 23 and 24.