Moscow and Tehran confirmed their readiness to continue close cooperation in the Astana format on Syria, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov said following talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.
"We have confirmed our readiness to continue close cooperation in the Russia - Iran - Turkey format, including in support of the political settlement processes within the framework of the Constitutional committee meeting in Geneva and in terms of continuing the fight against the remnants of terrorism on Syrian territory," he said.
According to the Minister, Moscow and Tehran have a common position that any attempts by external players to stay on Syrian territory without the consent of the Republic's leadership and promote separatist sentiments there are categorically unacceptable.
In 2017, Russia, Turkey and Iran initiated the process of peace talks in Astana (now Nur - Sultan; 14 rounds have been held so far, the last one was in December 2019), involving the government of the Arab Republic and the delegation of the Syrian opposition. Parallel to the Astana process, the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran held meetings on the Syrian settlement. Five summits were held earlier.
These consultations have brought tangible results in terms of stabilizing the situation in Syria. In particular, agreements were reached on the creation of four de-escalation zones-territories where fighting between government forces and armed opposition groups that joined the truce has stopped.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: MFA
Based on materials TASS