There is no military solution to the Syria conflict and the country’s crisis can only be solved through political approaches, Zarif said in Moscow on Tuesday.
The Iranian foreign minister was speaking at a meeting with his Russian and Turkish counterparts Sergei Lavrov and Mevlut Cavusoglu, respectively, and members of the three countries’ delegations which had gathered in the Russian capital to discuss the latest developments in Syria, particularly those concerning the newly liberated strategic city of Aleppo.
He expressed hope that a ceasefire agreement could be reached in Syria and said now is a good time for the resumption of negotiations to find a political solution to the crisis in the country.
Russia FM urges uncompromising, merciless war on terror
In a meeting with his Iranian counterpart in Moscow on Tuesday, Lavrov stressed the importance of fighting terrorism in an “uncompromising and merciless” way.
He pointed to the assassination of Russia’s Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov in a gun attack in Ankara and said, “We feel that this barbaric crime is a fresh reminder the war on terrorism must be uncompromising and merciless.”
Karlov was shot dead while delivering a speech on the opening of a photo exhibition on Monday.
The Russian minister rejected as “absolutely unacceptable” the attempts to connect terrorist attacks to his country’s support for Syria in its fight against terrorism and said such moves are aimed at shielding the militants.
“This is a provocative, perverse and unacceptable logic, these people are trying to protect terrorists and stop the fight against them,” Lavrov said and added that the efforts to make the world believe that supporting the legitimate Syrian government would increases the threat of terrorism “are absolutely unacceptable.”
Ahead of their talks in Moscow, the Iranian and Russian foreign ministers paid tribute to the murdered Russian ambassador to Ankara.
The assassination, condemned by the Turkish and Russian leaders as an attempt to sour the bilateral ties, came as the countries are maintaining cooperation over the Syrian crisis.
Turkey is partaking in talks on behalf of anti-Damascus militants, who had been in control of the eastern part of the city until recently. Russia has been supporting the Syrian government and has been negotiating on its behalf.
Iran, the US, NATO, and other countries and world institutions have also condemned the assassination of the Russian ambassador.
Meanwhile, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan held talks with his Russian and Turkish counterparts Sergei Shoigu and Fikri Isik, respectively, in Moscow on Tuesday about the latest developments in the region and the situation on the ground in Syria, especially in Aleppo.
At the meeting, the Iranian defense minister praised military cooperation between Ankara and Moscow in Syria, Press TV reported.
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