Astana Talks on Syria to Proceed despite Disagreements: Iranian Spokesman
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi reiterated Tehran’s policy on the need for peaceful resolution of the protracted war in Syria and said the Astana peace talks will proceed despite some differences of opinion among negotiating parties.
The Astana talks are meetings in which Iran, Russia, and Turkey have managed to start their cooperation based on common views about Syria, Qassemi said at his press conference in Tehran on Monday.
“Turkey has a significant role in Syria,” he said, adding that the involvement of Ankara in the Astana talks is important and can be positive.
He further referred to some differences of opinion between Iran and Turkey on Syria and said the Astana talks would not be halted only because of such differences.
“We are making efforts for the Astana talks to proceed more powerfully than before and be effective in resolving the Syrian crisis…,” he stated.
The Kazakh capital of Astana has hosted three rounds of talks on Syrian settlement brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran, held on January 23-24, February 15-16 and March 14-15.
During the talks, the participants agreed to set up a ceasefire monitoring group, among other issues.
The next round of the talks is expected to take place on May 3-4.
