Syria, Iran, Russia Hold Coordination Meetings Ahead of Astana Talks
Syria and Iran have stressed the importance of boosting coordination and consultations ahead of the planned intra-Syrian talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari held a telephone conversation with Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad on Saturday.
The two diplomats exchanged views about the latest developments prior to the Astana negotiations between representatives from the Syrian government and foreign-sponsored “opposition” groups in Astana on January 23.
Jaberi Ansari and Miqdad said Tehran and Damascus seek finding a political solution to the crisis in Syria, Press TV reported.
Meanwhile in Moscow, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and the Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riad Haddad discussed preparations for holding the Astana talks on Syria scheduled on January 23, 2017, according to the Syrian News Agency SANA.
A Russian Foreign Ministry statement said the two diplomats exchanged views on the situation in Syria and expressed satisfaction over the fact that the cessation of hostilities will create a chance to ease the humanitarian situation in Syria and enhance efforts aiming to reach political solution in the country in accordance with Security Council Resolution No.2254.
On Friday, Ansari held separate meetings in Moscow with the Russian deputy foreign minister and special presidential envoy for the Middle East and North Africa, Mikhail Bogdanov, and Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Unal Cevikoz. The sides discussed various aspects of the forthcoming talks in Astana aiming to find a solution to the crisis in Syria.
The negotiations, which exclude the Daesh and Jabhat al-Nusra Takfiri terrorist groups, will be mediated by Russia, Turkey, and Iran. The three countries implemented a similar accord in December following the defeat of militants in Syria’s northwestern city of Aleppo.
The Astana talks would be held in the wake of a nationwide cessation of hostilities in Syria which was endorsed by the United Nations Security Council on December 31.
H.M