Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold the next Astana-format summit in the Islamic Republic, according to Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali. The envoy made the statement on Tuesday in a meeting with Chairman of the Federation Council's Foreign Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachyov, TASS reported.
“Several days ago, Presidents Rouhani and Putin talked over the phone. During the phone conversation, President Rouhani invited President Putin… suggesting that the next summit in the Astana format in the near future should be held in Iran,” Jalali was quoted as saying.
The Astana process refers to talks on the Syrian settlement between Russia, Iran and Turkey in Kazakhstan’s capital city – which known as Astana until March 2019, when it was renamed Nur-Sultan.
The Kremlin press service said on Tuesday that Putin will hold talks on March 5 with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who will pay a working visit to Russia. “There are plans to discuss the Syrian settlement, given the current worsening situation in the Idlib de-escalation zone,” the statement said.