Senior Iranian diplomat wraps up tour focusing on Syria

The three-day tour by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari ended on Friday, according to PressTV.

On Tuesday, he traveled to Russia, where he met with Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian deputy foreign minister and special presidential representative for the Middle East and Africa, in Moscow. He also met with Alexander Lavrentiev, Russia’s special envoy on Syria, and Alexander Fomin, the Russian deputy defense minister.

Jaberi Ansari then headed for Syria, meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Foreign Minister Waleed al-Muallem in Damascus on Wednesday.

On Friday, the Iranian official visited Turkey. There, he held talks with Foreign Ministry Undersecretaries Umit Yalcın and Sedat Onal in Ankara.

Iran, Russia, and Turkey have been mediating talks between the Syrian government and opposition in the Kazakh capital of Astana since early 2017. Iran and Russia are Syrian allies, while Turkey sides with anti-Damascus militants.

Together, the three countries act as guarantor states for the Astana peace process for Syria.

Jaberi Ansari’s tour focused on regional developments and ongoing efforts by the guarantor states.

Experts from Iran, Russia, and Turkey are to meet in Tehran to discuss the Astana peace process on Saturday.

A day later, the countries’ foreign ministers will meet in the southwestern Turkish city of Antalya, and their leaders are expected to meet in the Russian resort city of Sochi on Wednesday.

The Syrian conflict is expected to take center stage in both of the latter gatherings.