On Tuesday morning, Secretary of Russia’s Security Council Nikolai Patrushev held talks with his Iranian counterpart Ali Shamkhani by phone aimed at enhancing coordination between the two national security institutions on the Syrian crisis and discussing preparations for the next Astana process talks in the Kazakh capital.
During the conversation, Iranian Secretary of Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) noted some of the US meddling measures and pretexts that could escalate tension and bolster terrorism in the region, adding “enhancing coordination between Iran and Russia is an inevitable necessity to prevent US illegal interventions in Syria which undermine the Arab country’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty.”
Shamkhani went on to add, “we have noticed an evident trend in US attacks on Syrian army positions aimed at strengthening terrorists’ morale and preserving some captured areas by armed takfiri elements.”
The Iranian senior official stressed that US measures in Syria against the legitimate government is in violation of UN Charter and Security Council resolutions.
The Russian security chief, for his part, called for closer cooperation between Iran and Russia for determining certain mechanisms for deploying forces to monitor the Syrian ceasefire.
Patrushev expressed satisfaction over achievements in the political arena and on the ground thanks to Tehran-Moscow joint cooperation in fighting terrorism in Syria, adding “following up on political mechanisms will not hinder our effective fight against terrorist groups outside the current initiatives that have led to the establishment of ceasefire in Syria.”
The telephone conversation between the two sides came as the fifth international meeting on Syria in Astana kicked off on Tuesday with a session of a joint working group on de-escalation issues. The Iranian delegation participating in the meeting is headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi-Ansari. A plenary session is expected on Wednesday afternoon.
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