Iran press/Middle East: "Our appeal, if I may to President Putin and to President Erdogan, to talk and go beyond perhaps technical discussions, and find a solution which can be a soft solution to this crisis," stressed United Nations Special Envoy for Syria , De Mistura.
The UN envoy also warned against a bombardment against Idlib the last militant stronghold in Syria. He echoed an earlier statement by US President Donald Trump warning that an assault on Idlib would be "a grave humanitarian mistake".
The Syrian Arab Army has recently advanced into areas surrounding Idlib Governorate, in preparation for a final offensive on militant-held positions.
Related News : Blast in Syria's Idlib, 50 civilians dead
156 terrorists killed in Idlib, Aleppo
However despite US and De Mistura's position on the Issue, Iran's deputy foreign minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi said in a televised speech on Tuesday Sep 42018 , that the Astana negotiations have been going on for over two years and Astana talks resumed through active presence of Iran, Turkey and Russia, he said.
Alongside Astana talks, 'we witnessed resumption of Geneva talks' in which western countries failed to invite Iran but the result of such negotiations did not bear fruit, Araqchi was quoted by IRNA.
Geneva talks turned to be a center for those countries leaving destructive role in Syria and they spared no efforts to support terrorists, he said.
Geneva talks was under supervision of the UN, but is now inactive and it is for long time we hear no news about them, Araqchi said.
Presently Syria is experiencing a very sensitive period as terrorists have been uprooted in different parts of Syria through close cooperation countries forming Astana meeting and Syrian government and army and all have sheltered in Idlib city, he said.
Terrorists have been merged with the civilians in the city of Idlib and use people as human shield, he said.
More than 330,000 people have been killed in Syria and millions have been driven from their homes since the conflict began in March 2011, and the infrastructure of the country destroyed.
In April 2017, thousands of Kefraya and al-Foua residents were bussed out to government-held areas in a swap that granted, in exchange, safe passage to hundreds of people living in two militant-held towns near Damascus, Madaya and Zabadani.
About 1.2 million Syrian refugees have returned to their homes since September 2015.
Video taken from RT
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