Baku, Azerbaijan, May 31
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Head of the Iranian parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi said that the Islamic Republic will hold the 2nd Meeting of Chairmen of Foreign Policy Committees of Parliaments of "Syria Friend Countries" on June 1.
The upcoming meeting is within Iran's policies to end the conflicts in the Syria and for restoration of security and stability in the country which is "the frontline of resistance against Israel," Boroujerdi said, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported on May 31.
Parliamentary delegations from 25 countries are scheduled to attend the meeting, Boroujerdi added.
It should be noted that the term "friends of Syria" is originally being used for an international diplomatic collective of countries including Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, UK and the U.S. and bodies such as the African Union, Arab League, European Union, Gulf Cooperation Council, Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the UN, convene periodically on the topic of Syria outside the U.N. Security Council.
The collective was created in response to a Russian and Chinese veto on a Security Council resolution condemning Syria's regime.
Iran is a close ally of the Syrian government and has always shown its support for the regime of Syrian President Bashar al Assad.
The Syrian opposition claim that Iranian military forces are fighting against them, while Iran dismisses the claims, saying that the country only has advisors in Syria to transfer its military experience to the Syrian army.
The Syrian conflict, which broke out in March 2011, killed over 150,000 people, more than 4.2 million people have become refugees in the Syrian territory, and 2.3 million people have fled to neighboring countries. The total population of Syria before the conflict amounted to 20 million.