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No preconditions for attending Astana Syria meet: Iran

02 January 2017 18:35 (UTC +04:00)

Turkey, Russia and Iran are the only countries expected to take part in a scheduled meeting in Kazakhstan later this month devoted to recent peace efforts for Syria, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Monday, APA reports quoting Anadolu Agency.

Asked if Iran had set any preconditions on its attendance of the meeting -- set for mid-January in Kazakh capital Astana -- ministry spokesman Bahram Kasimi said: "Dictating views is out of the question… We do not have any special conditions."

Asked about a recent Reuters report claiming that Turkey, Iran and Russia were mulling the possibility of dividing post-war Syria into "zones of influence", Kasimi described the assertion as "irrelevant and wrong".

"We respect the territorial integrity of Syria," he said. "Changing borders and violating the national sovereignty of countries is wrong."

Following last week’s Syria ceasefire deal brokered by Turkey and Russia, the Astana meeting comes as part of ongoing efforts by the two countries to promote a political process in war-torn Syria.