Int’l Friends of Syria Conference Kicks Off in Tehran

TEHRAN – The international ‘Friends of Syria’ conference started work here in Tehran on Wednesday afternoon to find a peaceful solution to the ongoing crisis in the country, according to FNA.

Over 40 high-ranking officials and representatives of different world countries and regional and international organizations are attending the one-day meeting which is being held with the motto of ‘Political Solution, Regional Stability’.

Iran has invited different regional and international actors to the conference, the foreign ministry announced last week.

“Representatives of Russia and China will be present in the meeting and Tehran has invited different states, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which hold different positions (from that of Iran on Syria) to attend the conference,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Sunday.

Also, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Araqchi said in his weekly press conference in Tehran on Tuesday that Iran seeks to find a political solution to the crisis in Syria through cooperation with the countries and groups invited to the ‘Friends of Syria’ conference in Tehran on Wednesday.

“The main goal of the meeting is helping the idea of finding a political solution to (the crisis in) Syria,” Araqchi said.

“All countries as well as all the regional and international organizations which can help to (the implementation of) this solution have been invited (to the conference),” he said, expressing the hope that discussions at the Tehran conference could help both the Tehran and the Geneva meetings move towards success.

Noting that Iran expects participation of officials and representatives from 40 countries in the Friends of Syria conference in Tehran, Araqchi announced that a number of “special guests” have also been invited to the meeting.

M.D