Iran, Russia, Turkey start bids to solve Syria crisis diplomatically: Zarif

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Iran, Russia and Turkey have started the process of finding a political solution to the Syria crisis.

There is no military solution to the Syria conflict and the country’s crisis can only be solved through political approaches, Zarif said in Moscow on Tuesday, Press TV reported.

The FM was speaking at a meeting with his Russian and Turkish counterparts Sergei Lavrov and Mevlut Cavusoglu, respectively, and members of the three countries’ delegations, which had gathered in the Russian capital to discuss the latest developments in Syria, particularly those concerning the newly liberated strategic city of Aleppo.

He expressed hope that a ceasefire agreement could be reached in Syria, saying that now is a good time for the resumption of negotiations to find a political solution to the crisis in the country.

Russia FM urges uncompromising, merciless war on terror

In a meeting with his Iranian counterpart in Moscow on Tuesday, Lavrov stressed the importance of fighting terrorism in an “uncompromising and merciless” way.

He pointed to the assassination of Russia’s Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov in a gun attack in Ankara and said, “We feel that this barbaric crime is a fresh reminder the war on terrorism must be uncompromising and merciless.”

Karlov was shot dead while delivering a speech on the opening of a photo exhibition on Monday.

The Russian minister rejected as “absolutely unacceptable” the attempts to connect terrorist attacks to his country’s support for Syria in its fight against terrorism and said such moves are aimed at shielding the militants.

“This is a provocative, perverse and unacceptable logic, these people are trying to protect terrorists and stop the fight against them,” Lavrov said and added that the efforts to make the world believe that supporting the legitimate Syrian government would increase the threat of terrorism “are absolutely unacceptable.”

Zarif: Terrorism knows no borders

During the meeting, Zarif expressed his condolences to the Russian government and nation as well as the family of the assassinated diplomat.

“Terrorists recognize no location and no geography and it is necessary that all [countries in] the world fight against terrorist groups,” the Iranian minister said.

Zarif said the Iranian government and nation are standing by Russia in the battle against terrorists and see no justification for acts of terror, adding that all countries must come to the conclusion that terrorists are not useful “even for short-term purposes.”

Those countries, which are sponsoring terrorism, must realize the “catastrophic dimensions” of their support for terrorist groups, Zarif noted.

Ahead of their talks in Moscow, the Iranian and Russian foreign ministers paid tribute to the murdered Russian ambassador to Ankara.

The assassination, condemned by the Turkish and Russian leaders as an attempt to sour the bilateral ties, came as the countries are cooperating over the Syrian crisis.

SS