Baku, Azerbaijan, Sep. 5
By Farhad Daneshvar – Trend:
The recent visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s point man on Syria to Tehran could signal a clear determination to continue strategic cooperation in fight against terrorism.
The Russian special presidential envoy for the Syrian settlement, Aleksandr Lavrentiyev, arrived in the Iranian capital city of Tehran on Tuesday to discuss latest developments regarding the crisis in the Arab country.
Following his arrival in Tehran, Aleksandr Lavrentiyev met Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani to exchange views on joint political, security and military initiatives on the crises in Syria.
During the meeting Ali Shamkhani once again called for protecting Syria’s sovereignty and said the cooperation between Tehran and Moscow are now yielding results.
“The cooperation between Iran, Syria, Russia and the resistance front in serious fight against terrorism in the battle fields and political arena is continuously producing valuable results,” Ali Shamkhani said.
The Iranian official described establishing peace and stability in the region as well as the full elimination of terrorism as the main priority of the Islamic Republic regarding the regional developments.
In turn, Lavrentiyev reassured that Moscow will continue to take military actions against terrorist in Syria.
Aleksandr Lavrentiyev’s Tehran visit is taking place ahead of the upcoming Astana peace talks scheduled for September 14-15.
Iran, Russia and Turkey during the Astana talks over the past months focused on establishing de-escalation zones in Syria.
The Astana talks seek to put an end to the conflict in Syria through negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition groups.
Tehran and Moscow have backed President Bashar al-Assad’s government against the armed militants since 2011 when the Syrian civil war broke out.
In a separate development on July 7, President Putin and his American counterpart Donald Trump agreed on a ceasefire in southwest Syria.
Tehran has welcomed the ceasefire but Iranian officials, in the meantime, have expressed concern over “unacceptable” measures taken by terrorist groups who use truce and political dialogue as opportunities to recruit forces.
Although fight against terrorism has prompted a full cooperation between Iran and Russia over the past several years, a group of commentators still question whether Tehran-Moscow relation has reached its climax.