Iran, Russia Security Officials Discuss Syria, Bilateral ties

Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), met with Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Moscow late on Monday, when the two officials exchanged viewpoints about developments in Syria and bilateral cooperation for a political solution to the foreign-sponsored crisis in the Arab country.

Shamkhani also held a separate meeting with Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation (SCRF), discussing with him regional developments and cooperation and the exchange of information between SNSC and SCRF.

Additionally, the top Iranian official met with Russia’s special envoy on Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev. The two discussed the status quo in Syria, potential future developments there and strategies to resolve the Syrian crisis.

Shamkhani traveled to Moscow for the high-level meetings on Monday. Before departing the Russian capital for Tehran, he elaborated on the topics of discussions he had had with Russian authorities. He said common areas of interest, including regional issues, mutual security cooperation, regional terrorism, the situation in Syria as well as continued contacts between SNSC and SCRF, were discussed.

On June 9, Iranian, Russian and Syrian defense ministers met in the Iranian capital, Tehran, to coordinate and step up their efforts in the anti-terrorism fight.

“We made decisions for what must be done on the regional and operational levels and in a consensual and coordinated manner,” Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan said back then after meeting with his Syrian and Russian counterparts.