TEHRAN - Russia, Iran and Turkey have agreed to hold the next Astana format summit in Tehran in February or March 2022, depending on the coronavirus situation, senior assistant to Iranian foreign minister for special political affairs Ali Asghar Khaji told TASS in Nur Sultan, on Wednesday.

"Yes, it [the summit] is planned. We are preparing to hold it early next year. It will depend on the pandemic situation. But in general, we have agreed to hold the summit. Most likely, we will be able to hold it in February or March," the Iranian diplomat said.

Khaji said the issue was on the agenda of talks in Nur-Sultan and will be reflected in a separate provision of the guarantor nations’ final statement.

When asked whether the summit will be preceded by a foreign ministers’ meeting, he replied: "Yes, we have agreed on the matter. It will be next year. In January or early February, we will hold a meeting of foreign ministers, and a summit will follow that."

He also said that the next international Astana format meeting on Syria will be convened within a few weeks after the summit of Russia, Iran and Turkey. "It [the date] depends on the summit, several weeks after the summit," the Iranian diplomat said.

On July 1, 2020, Russian, Iranian and Turkish leaders held an online summit dedicated to Syrian regulation, discussing the prospects of a face-to-face meeting in Tehran when the epidemiological situation improves.

The 17the round of talks between the Syrian government and the opposition started in Nur-Sultan, the new name of the Kazakh capital that was called Astana until March 2019, started on Tuesday. Special representatives of Iran, Russia and Turkey, as guarantors Syria truce, are mediating between the Syrian government and the opposition.