Speaking to reporters following a meeting with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York on Friday, Zarif added that they discussed the latest developments in Syria and Yemen as well as ways to implement a nuclear agreement reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in July.
“We emphasized the importance of the proper presence of opposition [groups] based on international regulations, which would be acceptable to the Syrian people and which would contribute to peace in Syria,” the Iranian foreign minister added.
"He said the opposition group in Syria should have no link with terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda, Daesh, al-Nusra Front and Ahrar al-Sham."
“We have not seen an acceptable list of the names of the existing opposition and terrorist groups in Syria yet,” Zarif pointed out.
The Iranian foreign minister arrived in New York on Wednesday to participate in the third round of international talks aimed at finding a solution to the Syria crisis. The participants in the negotiations are trying to come up with a list of legitimate opposition groups in Syria as opposed to terrorists.
The one-day gathering is scheduled to kick off later on Friday. Foreign ministers from 17 countries, including Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the US, are set to work out a solution for Syria’s nearly five-year-long crisis.
The Syrian conflict, which started in March 2011, has claimed the lives of more than 250,000 people and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or out of its borders.
The first two rounds of talks on Syria were held in the Austrian capital, Vienna, on October 30 and November 14; Press TV reported.
M/M