Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab-African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held talks on Syrian situation with Mikhail Bogdanov, Putin’s special envoy to Middle East, and UN Special Envoy to Syria Stafan De Mistura, in a trilateral meeting in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Saturday.
Amir-Abdollahian referred to the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and Beirut, adding “the occurrence of these tragic disasters attest to the fact that adopting double standards in countering terrorism and dividing this scourge into good and bad, will cause severe consequences for the whole region and the world; no country will ever benefit from strengthening terrorism.”
The Iranian official highlighted the need for focusing this round of Vienna Syria talks on resolute and effective actions against terrorism and sending a firm and strong message to terrorist groups on countries' collective efforts to battle terrorism.
Amir-Abdollahian also met with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on the sidelines of Vienna talks, condemning the Friday terrorist attacks in Paris and extending his condolences to the government of France.
Fabius said on Saturday that he would return back to France after the meeting on Syrian settlement to attend to the emergency situation in his country following the seven attacks that killed 130 people and wounded several dozens. ISIL terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif heading a delegation comprised of Abbas Araghchi and Hamid Baeidinejad, left Tehran for Vienna to join the peace talks on Syria this morning. Zarif's attendance was announced after President Rouhani's visits to France and Italy were postponed due to Friday's deadly terror attacks in Paris.
The Vienna discussions will bring together about 20 countries and international bodies to reach a road-map for peace to end Syria's more than four-year civil war.
The Saturday talks are overshadowed by the recent terrorist attacks carried out in Paris and Beirut, which led to the death and injury of several innocent civilians.
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