‘Iran, Russia, Syria resolute in fighting terror’

Iran’s top security chief says a trilateral meeting of defense ministers in Tehran indicates that Russia, Syria and Iran are determined in countering Takfiri terrorists. 

Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani met separately with Russian and Syrian Defense Ministers Sergei Shoigu and Fahad Jassem Freij in Tehran on Thursday.

Shamkhani thanked “the courageous actions and policies of Russian President (Vladimir Putin) and his effective support in the comprehensive fight against terrorism in Syria.”

The Iranian official said the way the US and its Western allies are dealing with the Syria conflict demonstrates their deep commitment to Israel's security and interests in the region.

Shoigu said fighting terrorism is an international duty which all countries should work together to fulfill in order to have a more secure world.

Shamkhani said the three countries, besides boosting their military coordination in their fight on Takfiri terrorists, will be "activating political capacities more than before to achieve an all-inclusive solution in order to stop war and bloodshed" in Syria.

In his meeting with Freij, the Iranian official hailed the Syrian army’s recent victories, including its liberation of some areas from Takfiri militants.

“Today, Syria is the battle ground against a very dangerous sedition, which would spread across the world if not stemmed.”

Shamkhani said "a political and nonconstructive attitude" to the Syrian crisis by the US and its allies in the West and the region has been key to the escalation of the conflict.

“Backing terrorist groups and at the same time introducing political initiatives as a solution to the crisis is an obvious contradiction which has put the sincerity of these countries into question,” he said.

“The only way to put an end to the current crisis in Syria is to go ahead with the Syria-Syria dialogue in order to arrive at the political initiatives which all the political parties in the country agree on,” Shamkhani said.

The Syrian defense minister, in turn, thanked the Iranian nation and government for standing by the Syrians in their struggles against terrorism.

He described the Tehran meeting as “very successful” and said the three sides are set to further enhance their cooperation on the fight against terrorism.

The Russia and Syrian defense ministers traveled to Tehran for meeting with their Iranian counterpart Hossein Dehqan in order to fine-tune their measures in the fight on Takfiri terrorists in Syria.

A Russian Defense ministry statement said talking points were "priority measures in reinforcing the cooperation" between the defense ministries of the three countries.

Moscow has sent warplanes and special forces in support of Syrian troops, while Tehran has deployed military advisers and trained and equipped pro-government militias.

Syria has been the scene of a conflict since March 2011. According to a February report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people in total since March 2011.

The United Nations has stopped counting the death toll in Syria, citing widespread violence across the country as well as complexities in checking the credibility of the statistics provided by the government and other sources.

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