TEHRAN (Tasnim) � Foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Syria expressed their common views on the fight against terrorism and the approaches for settling the crisis in Syria after a trilateral meeting in Moscow.





Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Russia�s Sergei Lavrov and Syria�s Walid al-Muallem gathered in Moscow on Friday for a trilateral meeting to coordinate efforts for peaceful settlement of crisis in the Arab country.

Countering terrorism requires international willpower, which is still lacking, the top Iranian diplomat said at a joint press conference after the trilateral meeting.

Zarif reiterated that the crisis in Syria needs a political solution, adding that Tehran, Moscow and Damascus have agreed that only Syrian people would be entitled to decide their fate.

In separate comments, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov noted that the efforts are focused at cutting financial supports for the terrorist groups in Syria.

He also criticized the US for its failure to delineate terrorist groups and the Syrian opposition.

The Russian minister then highlighted efforts to prevent the militants in Iraq�s northern city of Mosul from fleeting to Syria, adding that the trilateral meeting has defined the joint strategies that will be adopted soon for battling terrorist groups such as Daesh (ISIL) and al-Nusra Front.

Muallem, for his part, expressed the Syrian government�s readiness to immediately enter into peace negotiations and resume a ceasefire in Aleppo, provided that civilians would be evacuated from the city.

Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including Daesh (ISIL), currently controlling parts of it.

According to a report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country�s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.

In the meantime, Iran and Russia have remained close allies of Syria and support its legitimate government in the face of foreign-backed militancy.


By Tasnim News Agency