Moscow intends to take part in the upcoming Astana group’s foreign ministers meeting on Syria initiated by Turkey, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an address to participants in the Eleventh Middle East Conference hosted by the Valdai International Discussion Club on Monday.
His address was read out by Russian Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East and Africa Mikhail Bogdanov, TASS reported.
"The Astana group remains the most effective mechanism for international efforts aimed at facilitating the Syrian settlement process, where we continue to interact with our Turkish and Iranian partners. Nur-Sultan capital of Kazakhstan hosted the 17th international meeting on Syria in December 2021," the address reads.
"We soon plan to compare our positions at a foreign ministers meeting initiated by Turkey," Lavrov noted.
He was hopeful that Syria would be reinstated in the Arab League "in the near future."
Ambassador and Deputy Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Zahra Ershadi, at a recent UN Security Council meeting on the situation and humanitarian developments in Syria, pointed to the recent meeting between Iran, Russia and Turkey within the framework of the Astana process and said, “Member states, as guarantors of Astana Summit, called for an improvement in the humanitarian situation in Syria and called on the international community, the United Nations and humanitarian agencies to increase their assistance to Syrian people."
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, during a meeting with the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Syria, Geir O. Pedersen, on January 16, stressed the need for a political solution to Syrian crisis.
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