Iran Press/Europe- "We treat with great respect Iran’s steps to provide its own security and actions, including on Syria at the invitation of this country’s lawful government," Ryabkov told TASS on Thursday after meeting with US national security advisor John Bolton in Geneva.
Russia's top diplomat added Moscow has many inconsistencies with Washington about the situation in the Middle East, Including the issue of Iran’s presence in Syria.
Ryabkov along with Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia security council met with US National Security Adviser John Bolton in Geneva, as a followup to a summit between the Russian and U.S. leaders in Helsinki last month.
Before this meeting, Bolton claimed that Russia president Vladimir Putin had told him in a recent meeting that the Russians too "would like to see the Iranians go home as well.
Iran has no troops on the ground in Syria but its military advisory support has enabled the Syrian army to speed up its gains on various fronts against the terror outfits, which have the backing of US, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
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Iran has repeatedly emphasized that as long as the threat of terrorism exists in Syria and the country's legitimate government persists in Iran's advisory presence, It will stay in Syria.
Besides Tehran, Moscow has been carrying out an aerial bombardment campaign as a cover for ground operations by the Syrian army against a myriad of terror groups seeking to oust the Damascus government.
Meanwhile, US and Israel has frequently attacked military targets inside Syria in an attempt to prop up the terrorist groups that have been suffering defeats at the hands of Syrian government forces.
On April 9, an Israeli airstrike against the T-4 airbase killed more than a dozen people, including seven Iranian military advisors. Iran pledged that it would punish Israel for the deadly air raid.
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In the wake of Syria’s recent advances in the south, Israel has significantly beefed up its military presence on the occupied side of Syria’s Golan Heights, deploying more military equipment and forces to the region. The regime has also threatened more strikes against Syrian soil.
Iran and Russia have repeatedly called the international community to pay respect to the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria which both have been undermined by interventions from Saudi Arabia, US, Zionist regime, and some other countries which opposed Assad’s alignment with Iran.
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