Iran’s FM Meets World Figures in Munich
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held separate meetings with several diplomats and ministers including his counterparts from Russia and China on the sidelines of international talks on the Syrian crisis in the German city of Munich.
Zarif on Thursday held a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. During the 45-minute meeting, the two sides conferred on issues of mutual interest.
The Iranian minister also held meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Oman’s Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi, and Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif.
He also met with UN Envoy for Syrian Affairs Staffan de Mistura and Secretary General of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Iyad bin Amin Madani.
The meetings came as major world actors agreed on Friday to implement a "cessation of hostilities" in Syria and to expand delivery of humanitarian aid to people caught up in the conflict.
Meeting in Munich on February 11 and 12 included the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), the Arab League, Britain, China, Egypt, the EU, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, the OIC, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the United Nations, and the United States.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking to reporters after a meeting in Munich that included Russia and more than a dozen other countries, said the target for implementing the nationwide cessation of fighting was a week's time.
He said all participants had agreed that Syrian peace negotiations should resume in Geneva as soon as possible.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday had raised the specter of an interminable conflict or even a world war if powers failed to negotiate an end to the fighting in Syria, which has killed 250,000 people, caused a refugee crisis and empowered Daesh (ISIL) terrorists.
The first peace talks in two years between the Syrian government and opposition groups in Syria collapsed last week before they began in the face the recent major advances by the Syrian troops in the city of Aleppo. The talks are scheduled to be held on February 25.
Ministers at Thursday's talks wrangled over three core issues: a gradual cessation of hostilities with a firm end date, humanitarian access to cities being besieged by both sides and a commitment that Syrian parties return to Geneva for political negotiations.
