Iran may host meeting between parties to Syrian conflict

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has said that the Islamic Republic is holding talks with the Syrian government and opposition groups to resolve the crisis in the country through dialogue, Tehran Times reports.

In an interview with the Persian service of the Mehr News Agency published on Monday, Amir-Abdollahian said that Iran is making every effort to facilitate a meeting between the conflicting parties in Syria, and will probably host the meeting in Tehran.

He said, “Since about a year ago, we have been holding talks with the conflicting parties, such as the Muslim Brotherhood and the Syrian National Council… we made efforts to prepare the ground for holding a national dialogue between the opposition groups and the government.”

He also said that trilateral meetings on Syria between Iran, Egypt and Turkey are held once every 15 days on average.

Commenting on the Islamic Republic’s initiative for resolving the Syrian crisis, Amir-Abdollahian said the first step is stopping the violence, for which a ceasefire is needed.