Iraq seeks ‘active role’ in Syria peace talks

ANKARA Iraq has sought a formal response from guarantor countries to have an “active role” in Syria peace talks, said the country’s ambassador to Turkey on Friday. Hisham Al-Alawi told Anadolu Agency the trilateral summit between Turkey, Iran and Russia in Sochi “helped to reduce tension” and “prepared a right environment” towards ending the six-year Syrian conflict through political means. “The regional countries as well as the international players have shown some flexibility to come together for reaching a consensus”, Al-Alawi said. “We certainly welcome [the talks], and we would do our best to encourage further positive development in this direction.” The ambassador said that Iraq has officially asked the relevant countries including Turkey, Russia and Iran to support its request to be part of the Astana meeting. “We are waiting to receive a formal response from the relevant countries. We look forward to participating in future meetings and playing an active role reaching a solution for the crisis”, Al-Alawi added. He said Iraq’s victories over Daesh and recently limiting the terrorist group’s control in Syria were “positive developments”. On Wednesday, Russian, Turkish and Iranian representatives met at the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi. Russian President Vladimir Putin said participants had agreed to support a Syrian “peoples’ congress” as an initial step towards establishing dialogue between the warring sides.