On April 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stressed during a phone call the need to continue consultations on the Astana process on Syria.
“ It is necessary to continue consultations between Russia and Iran on the Astana process in addition to the trilateral talks with Turkey,” Sputnik quoted President Putin as saying during the phone call.
Rouhani stressed the necessity to continue the tripartite consultations within the framework of the Astana process and to develop cooperation and talks with Russia on regional issues, according to the Iranian presidential statement.
During the call, Rouhani indicated that the United States and Israel are carrying out provocative actions in the region, noting that Washington is still exerting pressure on Iran despite the spread of Corona virus and preventing Tehran from obtaining a loan from the International Monetary Fund.
Rouhani stressed the importance of expanding cooperation and exchanging experiences between Iran and Russia in combating the Corona epidemic.
Presidents Rouhani and Putin described the bilateral relations between the two countries as a strategy, stressing the need to work for their development and speed up the implementation of agreements between the two sides.
On April 20, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, announced that the foreign ministers of the guarantor countries of the Astana Talks (Russia, Iran and Turkey) will hold remote talks on the situation in Syria on the 22nd of this month.
The Astana meetings began in the Kazakh capital early in 2017 and held thirteen meetings, one of which was in the Russian city of Sochi and confirmed in its entirety a firm commitment to preserve the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Syria and to continue the war on terrorist organizations there until finished them.
O. al- Mohammad