Russia, Iran Hold Consultations on Situation in Syria

MOSCOW, (ST)- Russian and Iranian diplomats have discussed during a meeting  in Moscow the developments in Syria’s northeastern region in the backdrop of the Turkish aggression, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

In a statement posted on its official website, the ministry said “the two sides stressed their conviction that “achieving lasting and long-term stability in the northeast of Syria and the region in general can only be possible through the restoration of the country’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.”

The two sides’ consultations also dealt with the political settlement in Syria, focusing on the preparations for launching the work of the Syrian Constitutional Committee in Geneva, the ministry added.

 The consolations were attended by the Russian President’s Special Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin as well as by Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani and Senior Aide of the Iranian Foreign Minister for Special Political Affairs Ali Asghar Khaji.

Earlier on Thursday, the Russian ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reiterated that security and stability in Syria can’t be attained unless the Syrian state imposes its sovereignty over the entire Syrian territory.

In a press conference, Zakharova said that the Turkish aggression on Syria must not affect the efforts being exerted to find a political solution to the crisis in the country on the basis of the Security Council Resolution No. 2254.

She pointed out that Russia is working with its partners in Astana process and in coordination with the UN Special Envoy for Syria to prepare for holding the first meeting of the constitutional committee on Syria late in October.

Hamda Mustafa