Iran coordinating with Syria to oppose US presence in Astana

EghtesadOnline: Chairman of the Expediency Council's Strategic Research Center, Ali-Akbar Velayati, says Iran's opposition to US presence in Astana meeting had been in coordination with Syrian government.

News ID: ۷۳۹۴۱۵

25 January 2017

Velayati made the remark in an interview with reporters after a meeting with the representative of Iraq Izadis General Assembly, Sheikh Sameer, and a number of the ethnic group's parliament members, personalities and elites.

He referred to the meeting on Syria in Astana, which is sponsored by Russia, Iran and Turkey to discuss Syrian crisis and ceasefire, and said the fact the Syrians and opposition groups minus Daesh and al-Nusra accepted ceasefire and come under Syrian government authority in the future was a useful move, ILNA reported.

There is a big hope that the meeting will help continuation of ceasefire, he said, noting that it is not logical to expect all differences be settled through the meeting alone.

Noting that the meetings should continue and in all of them steps are taken forward, Velayati voiced optimism over future of the talks between the government and the opposition groups, during which they accepted to lay down arms and observe ceasefire.

Enemies and the Syrian opposition were not ready to hold political talks as long as they were not disappointed of attaining their objectives, Velayati said, describing victory in Aleppo as a historic turning point, which prepared the ground for dialogues.

Velayati further stated that Astana meeting showed that all parties, either Turkey or the groups following the country, and even the countries not present in the meeting, directly or indirectly bowed to legitimacy of the Syrian government somehow.

Referring to the basic role of western states, including the US, in provocation of the enemies of Syrian nation and supporting them, he said Iran's opposition to the US' presence in Astana had been coordinated with the Syrian government.