Astana peace talks is the only effective mechanism to stop Syria violence – Tehran

The peace talks on Syria in the Astana format are currently the only effective instrument that has facilitated the efforts to curb violence in that country, according to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

“We are convinced that today the only mechanism that considerably helped to… make a step towards stability has become the Astana process,” IRNA cited Zarif as saying on Wednesday. He described the talks as a “successful process.”

It is now time for Tehran to host a summit meeting of the nations that are guarantors of the Astana process, the minister said, referring to Iran, Russia and Turkey.

Zarif and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks by phone on Wednesday, focusing on the crisis in Syria’s Idlib, bilateral relations and the coronavirus spread, TASS reported.