Iran’s Zarif: Astana Process Parties to Coordinate Efforts with UN
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran, Russia and Turkey –the initiators of the Astana process for peace in Syria- will stay in touch with the UN secretary general and his special envoy to coordinate efforts for settling the conflict in the Arab country.
Speaking to reporters before leaving Moscow for Tehran on Saturday night, Zarif said the three guarantors of ceasefire in Syria’s de-escalation zones have decided to hold separate talks with the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura and the UN secretary general and also follow up on the decisions made at the Iran-Russia-Turkey summit and those made between Syria representatives in Sochi.
“The meeting (on Syria between the foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkey in Moscow) was to show that the Astana (peace) process is the only ongoing process that has been relatively successful in (resolving) the Syria crisis,” he said.
He added that in the trilateral meeting with his Russian and Turkish counterparts, Sergei Lavrov and Mevlut Cavusoglu, the need for the continuation of the Astana peace process was underlined.
The three foreign ministers issued a joint statement after their meeting in Moscow on Saturday, saying that they have agreed to increase joint efforts to help achieve “a lasting political settlement in Syria”.
In the statement, they said they have “agreed to increase joint efforts aimed at facilitating the achievement of a lasting political settlement in Syria envisaged by the UN Security Council resolution 2254 and through full use of multi-level mechanisms of the Astana format.”