Iranian Diplomat, Syrian President Meet in Damascus
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian foreign minister's special assistant for political affairs, Hossein Jaberi Ansari, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad exchanged views about issues of mutual interest in a meeting in Damascus.
During the meeting on Sunday, Jaberi Ansari and Assad discussed the latest developments surrounding the Syrian peace negotiations held in the Kazakh capital of Astana, the Swiss city of Geneva, and the Russian city of Sochi.
Heading a high-ranking delegation, Jaberi Ansari arrived in the Syrian capital on Sunday for talks with senior officials of the Arab country on various issues.
The eighth round of Syria peace talks, mediated by Iran, Russia and Turkey, was held in Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana in December, with the aim of finding a diplomatic solution to the six-year conflict in the Arab country.
In mid-September, the three countries, which together act as guarantor states in peace talks for Syria, had agreed on the details of four “de-escalation zones” in the Arab country, including in Idlib, during peace talks in Astana.
The fifth zone is expected to reduce tension in Syria's Afrin border region.
The de-escalation zones are aimed at separating extremist groups, including Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham -- formerly known as al-Nusra Front -- from other militants.
