TEHRAN – Iran, Russian and Turkey, as the three guarantors of the Syrian peace talks, have sent a letter to the United Nations secretary general and the president of the UN Security Council demanding that the final statement of their presidents in Sochi be registered as a UN Security Council document.

Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Gholamali Khoshroo and his Russian and Turkish counterparts Vassily Nebenzia and Feridun Sinirlioglu respectively put their signatures to the letter, IRNA reported on Saturday.

During a trilateral meeting in the Russian city of Sochi on November 22, the three countries’ presidents issued a joint statement stressing the importance of the continuation of trilateral cooperation in establishment of peace and stability in Syria, which has been grappling with a foreign-backed militancy since 2011.

The three presidents also expressed hope that their cooperation would lead to positive results in the region and reduce ethnic tensions.

Iran, Russia and Turkey have sponsored several rounds of talks on Syria in Astana, Kazakhstan, since January 2017. The three countries are seeking continuation of those talks which have reduced aggression and tensions in the region.

Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee for Foreign Affairs, said on Thursday that Tehran, Moscow and Ankara have managed to form a genuine anti-terror coalition through well-coordinated work.

Slutsky told reporters that the trilateral summit in Sochi “has shown that Russia, Turkey and Iran have a unified approach to resolving the Syria issue.”

“This particularly refers to the establishment of de-escalation zones and their role in preserving Syria’s sovereignty. It is possible to say that the three countries have formed a true anti-terrorist coalition,” the Russian lawmaker added. 

Slutsky also said that the three countries will continue coordinating their efforts to achieve an ultimate victory over international terrorism in Syria.

Meanwhile, Iranian ambassador to Moscow Mehdi Sanaei has emphasized the effectiveness of talks between President Hassan Rouhani and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the past four years.

“During the past four years, Rouhani and Putin have held 12 meetings,” Sanaie said in a meeting with Leader of the Russian Liberal Democratic Party Vladimir Zhirinovsky.

He also called for expansion of cooperation between the two countries in different fields.

MH/PA