Shamkhani:

Closer Iran-Russia contact prevents US intervention in Syria

Rasa - A senior Iranian official voices alarm over the repercussions of US adventurism in Syria, calling for closer Tehran-Moscow cooperation against Washington’s interventionist role in the crisis-hit Arab state.

News ID: 430775

Date: 04 July 2017 - 22:52

RNA - In a Tuesday phone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said US adventurism in Syria could fuel tensions in the Middle East and strengthen the terror groups operating in the troubled region.

Shamkhani emphasized the need for “increased coordination between Iran and Russia in order to prevent the US’s illegal meddling in Syria as well as any damage to this country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

He also said Washington attacks positions held by the Syrian army in a bid to boost the morale of Takfiri terrorists and preserve the areas under their control, stressing that such moves are in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions as well as the UN Charter.

The US-led coalition started hitting what it says are positions held by the Daesh terrorist group in Syria in September 2014. It has obtained no permission from the government in Damascus or the United Nations for the aerial bombings.

In several occasions over the past few months, coalition jets targeted Syrian military forces, claiming they posed a threat to US forces, an allegation rejected by Damascus.

In June, the US-led coalition downed a Syrian fighter plane and a drone operated by pro-Damascus fighters engaged in operations against Daesh.

Patrushev, for his part, touched on the intra-Syrian talks underway in the Kazakh capital, Astana, underlining the need for increasing contacts between Russia and Iran to specify mechanisms for the deployment of ceasefire monitors.

He also expressed his satisfaction with Tehran-Moscow cooperation against terrorism in Syria.

The fifth round of the Astana discussions brokered by Moscow, Tehran and Ankara, will conclude on Wednesday.

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