Tasnim � Deputy foreign ministers of Iran and Turkey in a meeting in Tehran discussed the latest developments in the region and weighed plans for settling a crisis that has beset Syria for more than six years by contributing to the Astana peace talks.





Iran�s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari and Turkish Foreign Ministry's Deputy Undersecretary Sedat Onal met in Tehran on Monday for talks that focused on the progress in the efforts to end the crisis in Syria.

They also talked about the peaceful manners of resolving the conflicts and tensions in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Iranian and Turkish diplomats then called for regional dialogue to settle the problems, for supporting the Syria peace negotiations in the Kazakh city of Astana, and for closer interaction between Tehran and Ankara on the regional issues.

Iran and Turkey, together with Russia, are the three guarantors of a ceasefire in Syria that has been achieved following diplomatic negotiations in Astana.

Political efforts to end fighting in Syria have gained momentum in recent months with the announcement of a ceasefire in the Arab country in early January.

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

Figures show 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.