PHOTO: Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov
Iran and Russia held further discussions on Monday about their line for forthcoming political talks on Syria’s crisis, including their message to the Assad regime.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about the proposed discussions between the regime and the Syrian opposition and rebels, scheduled for January 23 in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana. Later, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, spoke with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev.
On Tuesday, Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis will be hosted by senior Iranian officials in Tehran.
Since last Thursday, Iran has negotiated the details of the Astana talks with its brokers, Russia and Turkey. President Hassan Rouhani spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday. Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari met Turkish and Russian counterparts on Friday, and communicated the outcome to Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad on Saturday.
Russia and Turkey, formerly on opposite sides of the Syrian conflict, have reconciled to pursue a deal over Aleppo city and Aleppo Province, a nominal ceasefire, and the proposed regime-opposition talks.
Iran, along with Russia the essential backer of the Assad regime since 2011, has been more sceptical of the talks. Tehran has insisted that Bashar al-Assad’s future is a “red line” that must not be crossed, despite the opposition’s insistence that the President step aside in any agreement. Turkey — formerly a major backer of the opposition and rebels — has publicly maintained that Assad must depart at the end of the transition, but Russia has reserved its position.
