Asia

Home page

Asia

Iranâ€™s Zarif leaves for New York to attend talks on ending Syrian crisis

17 December 2015 04:05 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has left Tehran for New York to take part in the third round of international negotiations aimed at resolving the Syrian crisis, APA reports quoting Press TV.

The one-day gathering is scheduled to kick off on Friday. Foreign ministers from 17 countries, including Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the US, will try to work out a solution for Syria’s nearly five-year-long war.

The first two rounds of such talks were held in the Austrian capital Vienna on October 30 and November 14.

During the first round of the talks, senior diplomats from participating countries, including Iran, as well as envoys from the United Nations and the European Union agreed on respecting Syria’s national unity and sovereignty but remained at loggerheads over the fate of President Bashar al-Assad.

In the second run, participants from about 20 countries and international bodies agreed that elections be held in the war-torn country in 18 months and to meet again in “approximately one month” to review the progress toward a ceasefire and the start of a political process in the country.

Iran has repeatedly said that the settlement of the crisis in Syria is only possible through a political approach and that only the Syrian people can decide the future of their country. The Islamic Republic has reiterated that Assad is Syria’s lawful president and that Tehran will never stop backing the government in Damascus.