Syrian-Syrian Talks Not to Involve Terrorists: Iranian MP

TEHRAN – A senior Iranian lawmaker reiterated Tehran’s policy to support the Syrian people’s right to self-determination and said it is natural that foreign-backed terrorists, who have killed many Syrians and destroyed the Arab country, should not be part of the peace talks.

Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency, Spokesperson for the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Hossein Naqavi Hosseini pointed to a recent summit of Iran, Russia and Turkey in Sochi about the Syrian crisis and said Tehran’s stance on the crisis is crystal clear, according to Press TV.

 “We have defended democracy and the rights of the Syrian people,” he said, adding that Iran has sided with the people and government of Syria to restore tranquility to the Arab country.

“When we say the negotiations should be Syrian-Syrian, we mean the government, the people and unarmed opposition groups,” he said.

“It is natural that this important issue does not include terrorists, who have shed the blood of the Syrian people and destroyed the country,” he added.

On November 22, the presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey issued a statement after their meeting in Russia’s Sochi for talks on Syria peace.

The summit was part of political efforts by the three countries to ensure peace in Syria, which is recovering from a war that started in 2011 and turned into a brutal militancy including a large number of terrorist groups.

On November 19, the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group was flushed out of its last stronghold in Syria’s Al-Bukamal. The city’s liberation marked an end to the group’s self-proclaimed caliphate it had declared in 2014.

H.M