Rouhani tells Putin cooperation in Astana format is vital for peace in Syria

TEHRAN, July 16. /TASS/. Tehran, Moscow and Ankara should continue cooperation in the Astana format in order to achieve peace in Syria, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a phone conversation on Thursday. "Rouhani mentioned the recent online summit between Iran, Russia and Turkey, aimed at establishing peace in Syria, highlighting the need to continue trilateral cooperation in the Astana format for the sake of achieving this goal," the Iranian president’s press service said. The Iranian leader also emphasized special importance of preserving and fulfilling the nuclear deal both as an international deal between the signatories and [the means] of countering US unilateral steps on maintaining armed embargo against Iran. Rouhani also stressed the need for bilateral cooperation and sharing experience in the anti-coronavirus fight. According to the press service, Rouhani expressed satisfaction over developing balanced bilateral cooperation with Moscow at all levels in the economic, political, scientific and cultural fields as well as the negotiations between the two countries’ delegates with the goal of implementing the agreements." In his turn, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to TASS that Putin and Rouhani had held a phone conversation. "Yes, this conversation took place," Peskov said, noting that the Kremlin would provide more details later. On July 1, the presidents of Russia, Iran and Turkey held an online summit devoted to the Syrian settlement and discussed the prospects of arranging a meeting in Tehran as soon as the epidemiological situation allowed. In their final statement, the presidents recalled the need to fully comply with all principles of sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria. The politicians also voiced their discontent over illegal seizure and handover of oil revenues, which must belong to the Syrian state. The meeting also discussed the humanitarian situation in the Middle East country and the prospects of its post-war restoration. Read more