Iran and Russia discuss preparations for Syrian Congress of National Dialogue

On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov discussed about preparations for a Russian-hosted Syrian People’s Congress, a trilateral meeting on the Syrian crisis expected to be held in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in late January. The Russian official also held separate talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. On November 22, 2017, the Iranian, Russian and Turkish presidents held talks on the Arab country’s crisis in Sochi: the three presidents attended a press conference and issued a joint statement. During the press conference, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the tripartite meeting discussed holding an all-Syrian congress, which will see representatives from all sides in Sochi to exchange views on the fate of the country and pave the way for the drafting of a new constitution and elections. Also Recep Tayyib Erdogan emphasized that the three nations would help stage a meeting of Syrian groups hosted by Russia, agreeing to keep working on the peace process in Syria.