TEHRAN - The representatives of Iran, Russia and Turkey at the Astana peace talks met on October 21 with UN special envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen on the sidelines of the Syrian Constitutional Committee’s meeting in Geneva.

The Iranian foreign minister’s senior advisor for political affairs Ali Asghar Khaji represents Iran in Geneva, heading a high-ranking delegation. He attended the four-way meeting with Pederson in addition to separate talks with the representatives of Russia and Turkey, the Iranian foreign ministry said. 

At the meeting, Khaji supported the efforts of the UN envoy for Syria and stressed that, alongside the talks on the Syrian constitution, all sides must take account of the humanitarian crisis, the removal of sanctions, the reconstruction of Syria and the fight against terrorism. Khaji added that the UN and the international community should not neglect the U.S. illegal presence in Syria and Israel’s repeated aggression against the Arab country.

At the meeting, Pederson and the Turkish and Russian envoys also spoke on the 6th round of talks about the Syrian constitution. They expressed pleasure at the course of the negotiations between Syrian factions.