Iran, Russia stress political solutions to regional crises

TEHRAN, Oct. 18 (MNA) – In a phone conversation with Russian special envoy for the Middle East on Sat., Iran’s Amir-Abdollahian stressed the need to follow political strategies in settling conflicts in the region. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab-African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Special Envoy for the Middle East and Africa Mikhail Bogdanov in a telephone conversation Saturday night conferred on the latest developments in Syria and Yemen. The Iranian diplomat deemed Moscow’s recent counterterrorism measures in Syria effective and constructive, adding, “Tehran and Moscow believe in pursuing political solutions to regional crises and call for an effective response from the international community toward the extremist groups that is within the framework of international law and the provisions of the UN Charter.” The two sides also expressed deep concerns over the current situation in Yemen worsened by the continuation of the Arab coalition militarism there. The two deputy ministers stressed the need for an end to all military aggressions against Yemeni people, and called for the promotion of political process and intra-Yemeni dialog as the only way out of the deadly conflict in the war-ravaged Arab country. The Russian and Iranian officials further expressed support for the UN representative’s efforts to hold a meeting among Yemeni parties as fast as possible. Amir-Abdollahian also extended invitation to Bogdanov for a visit to Tehran in the near future.