Russia Says Iran, Other Powers Should Be Part of Syria Talks
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday regional countries, Iran in particular, should be part of talks to resolve the crisis in Syria, Russian news agencies reported.
He stressed that Iran, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates are the countries that should have a role in the resolution of ongoing crisis in the Arab country.
Lavrov also said Russia does not see the point in providing external support for Syria without Iran's participation, Reuters reported.
Since late September, Russia has been carrying out bombings against the ISIL terrorist group in Syria, after the Russian parliament granted President Vladimir Putin authorization to deploy the country's air force abroad.
Iran has welcomed the Russian involvement to help settle the protracted crisis in the Arab country.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has previously proposed a four-point peace plan on the Syrian crisis. The initiative calls for a national unity government, a ceasefire, fighting terrorism and constitutional reforms in the violence-torn Arab nation, according to Zarif.
Syria has been entangled in civil war since March 2011. The ISIL Takfiri group now controls parts of the Arab country, mostly in the east.
In the past four and half years, more than 240,000 people have died in Syria -overwhelmingly civilians- and around 4 million Syrian people are now refugees in other countries. Around 8 million others have been displaced internally.
