“We held detailed and comprehensive discussions on ways to implement the final statement of the previous meeting,” Deputy Foreign Minister for Arabic and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told the reporters after the third round of Vienna talks on Syrian crisis.
He asserted “the Iranian delegation, especially after FM Mohammad Javad Zarif joined the meeting, made great efforts in order to attract attentions to a scheduled ceasefire during Saturday’s meeting.”
Amir-Abdollahian referred to the obstacles lying ahead of the political process and the fight against terrorism; “one was the continued disagreement over who counts as a terrorist group and, above all, the selection of opposition groups to engage in meaningful negotiations with the Syrian government," he stressed.
“The initial discussions were made; however, it was decided to form a committee under the supervision of United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura with cooperation of countries in order to take necessary measures in determining the list of terrorists and insurgents,” the official noted adding “Iran had a strong emphasis on the role of the Syrian people and government since the Syrian nation must be involved in all decisions on their future.”
He further recalled the recent terrorist attacks in Beirut and Paris maintaining "we took the chance to focus on fight against terrorism during the talks."
In response to a question about setting a timetable for presidential elections in Syria, Amir-Abdollahian highlighted “the timetable was discussed during the session while the Iranian side stressed the need to focus on inclusion of a scheduled ceasefire in the final statement as a prerequisite to all other mechanisms.”
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