Benefits of Iran-Russia-Syria-resistance front cooperation showing: Shamkhani

A senior Iranian official says strategic cooperation among Iran, Syria, Russia and the resistance front in the fight against terrorism is bearing fruit amid fresh political and military advances by the Syrian government.

“The valuable results of the strategic cooperation among Iran, Syria, Russia and the resistance front in the genuine fight against terrorism are constantly emerging in the political spheres and battlefields,” Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani said in a meeting with Russia's special envoy on Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, in Tehran on Tuesday.

He hailed the coalition’s great achievements in fighting terrorism and breaking a siege imposed by Daesh Takfiri terrorists on the eastern Syrian city of Dayr al-Zawr and urged all countries to respect Syria’s national sovereignty.

“The commitment of all sides to a Syrian-Syrian solution and observation of the right of the country’s people to determine their own fate without foreign intervention will prepare the ground for accelerating [ways] to reach a result and solve the crisis,” Shamkhani said.

Syrian army forces, backed by allied fighters from popular defense groups, reached Dayr al-Zawr on Tuesday and broke a nearly three-year siege imposed by Daesh terrorists on pro-government areas there.

Syria’s state-run television network reported that army and allied forces had advanced on the Brigade 137 base front on the western outskirts of the city, located 450 kilometers (280 miles) northeast of the capital Damascus on the shores of the Euphrates River.

The move effectively breached the siege that Daesh militants had laid since January 2015.

PressTV-Syrian forces break Daesh siege on Dayr al-Zawr

Syrian government forces and their allies have reached the eastern city of Dayr al-Zawr, breaching the nearly three-year Daesh siege on pro-government areas.

The SNSC secretary further said the Islamic Republic’s priority in the region is to establish stability, security and eradicate terrorism, adding that Tehran would cooperate with various sides based on its goodwill in order to support the demands of the Syrian people and the country’s legitimate government.

He urged all countries to confront the presence, infiltration and the instrumental use of terrorists and to think about the impacts of supporting terrorism on their own states, calling for coordinated, common and non-discriminatory approaches to fight the “dangerous virus of terrorism.”

Russia will continue relentless fight against terrorists

The Russian envoy, for his part, said Tehran, Moscow and Damascus are playing a decisive role in the real campaign against terrorism.

Lavrentiev added that his country still believes in military action against terrorists and will continue its relentless efforts to fight Daesh and the al-Nusra Front terrorists.

The Russian official’s visit to Tehran comes on the threshold of the next round of negotiations between representatives from the Syrian government and foreign-sponsored armed opposition besides delegates from Iran, Russia, and Turkey as mediators on September 14-15 in Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana.

Astana has hosted five rounds of peace talks for Syria since January. The negotiations are aimed at bringing an end to the foreign-backed militancy in the violence-battered Arab country, which began in March 2011.

Russia and Iran are the main international backers of the Syrian government in its battle against foreign-backed terrorists.

At Damascus’ request, Iran has been providing military advisory support to the Syrian military in its counterterrorism operations.

Russia has been also carrying out an aerial campaign in Syria in coordination with Damascus since September 2015 to further boost the Syrian military’s anti-terror fight.

Iran, Russia expanding ties in various fields

Meanwhile, in a meeting with Lavrentiev, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari said Iran and Russia are expanding relations in different fields.

The Russian special envoy on Syria, for his part, said Tehran and Moscow currently have a good level of relations while the two sides’ officials are negotiating to further bolster ties.

He also highlighted the importance of his current visit to Tehran and talks with Iranian officials ahead of Astana talks.

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