TERHAN - Ali Asghar Khaji, a senior advisor to Iran’s foreign minister, met on Tuesday with UN and Italian special envoys for Syria Geir Pedersen and Italian Special Envoy for Syria Stephen Ravanan in Geneva.

Khaji met with Pedersen for talks over the 6th session of the Syrian Constitutional Committee which is underway in Geneva. He also met with Ravanan on the sidelines of the constitutional committee meeting.

In his meeting with Khaji, Petersen described this round of talks as positive and underlined that a constructive dialogue is developing between the opposition and the Syrian government. He hoped that these negotiations will result in a breakthrough, according to the Iranian foreign ministry.

Khaji also welcomed the positive results from the new session of the constitutional committee and reaffirmed Iran’s support for the UN envoy’s efforts. The senior advisor underscored that the Syrian constitution must be drawn up without foreign interference and through a national dialogue. He said Iran supports this process in line with the Astana peace talks.

Khaji further emphasized the need for the removal of oppressive sanctions on the Syrian people. He called on the UN to make an effort to collect humanitarian aid for Syria and grant loans for its reconstruction.

The Syrian Constitutional Committee Small Body convened for the sixth session on Monday.

Khaji and Ravanan also discussed the latest developments in Syria. In this meeting, Ravanan stressed the importance of Iran's regional role, especially in Syria.

He added that the Italian government is involved in the fight against terrorism, pursuing a political solution to the Syrian crisis and providing humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people through the European Union and the United Nations.

In the meeting, the senior advisor to the Iranian minister of foreign affairs said the Syrian people are basically in need of humanitarian aid.

He further called for the return of refugees to their country and the eradication of terrorism in Syria, stressing that tranquility in Syria will lead to the stabilization of the region. Khaji said the continuation of U.S. and European sanctions policies will not help resolve the Syrian crisis.

In the end, the two sides agreed to continue their consultations in the future on helping with resolving the Syrian crisis.