Amir Abdollahian on Monday held a meeting with Secretary of State at the Swiss Foreign Ministry Yves Rossier in Tehran during which the two sides exchanged views about a range of issues, including the latest developments in the Middle East, Syria in particular.
The Iranian diplomat emphasized that Iran supports Bashar al-Assad as the legitimate president of Syria and regards its people as the real owners of the Arab country who have the right to make decisions for their future without foreign interference and terrorists’ pressures.
He further denounced some militant groups’ violation of the recent UN-brokered ceasefire in Syria which “can disrupt the process of ongoing political negotiations.”
Rossier, for his part, described Iran’s role in the resolution of the Syrian crisis as significant and said political dialogue is the only way to settle the crisis.
Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL), currently controlling parts of it.
According to a new report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.
In the meantime, Iran has remained a close ally of Syria and supports its legitimate government in the face of foreign-backed militancy.
In June 2015, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hailed the resistance of the Syrian government and people against foreign-backed terrorist groups in the Arab country, saying that Tehran is determined to side with Damascus to the end of the crisis.