AhlulBayt News Agency - United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura arrived in Tehran on Sunday to hold talks with senior Iranian officials on the ongoing Syrian crisis as well as the Arab country’s forthcoming peace talks.
Heading a delegation, de Mistura arrived in the Iranian capital early on Sunday to exchange views with ranking Iranian officials ahead of the resumption of the peace talks on the five-year-long conflict in the Arab country.
Upon his arrival, he sat down with Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed the latest developments in Syria and the upcoming peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland.
Speaking at a news conference in Berlin on July 22, the UN official had said there was determination to find a proper date for the resumption of the Syria peace talks.
“We are determined to actually look for a proper date in August for relaunching the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva,” De Mistura said.
He expressed optimism that the results of talks between the US and Russia can be helpful in resolving the crisis in Syria, saying the two sides have agreed to take some “concrete steps” to restore peace to Syria.
The US and Russia are still divided over the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Washington insists that Assad must step down before any peace process can yield results, but Russia opposes the idea, arguing that the Syrian president is defending his country against terrorists.
Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011.
According to the UN, over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which has also displaced over half of the Arab country’s pre-war population of about 23 million.
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