Syrian Developments on Good Track: Iranian Deputy FM

“If countries contribute to the fight against terrorism and the ceasefire process with firm determination, then it can be said that developments in Syria are on a good path,” Amir Abdollahian said Tuesday in a meeting with Director of Swiss Foreign Ministry’s Middle East and North Africa Division Wolfgang Amadeus Bruelhart in Tehran.

In that case, there would be a better prospect for dialogue and political resolution of the Syrian crisis, the Iranian diplomat added.

During the meeting, the two sides also exchanged views about other developments in the region and the world, including the Saudi-led war against Yemen and the humanitarian crisis in the Arabian Peninsula country.

Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including Daesh (ISIL), currently controlling parts of it.

According to a new report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.

Yemen’s defenseless people have also been under massive attacks by a coalition led by the Saudi regime for nearly a year but Riyadh has reached none of its objectives in Yemen so far.

Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been launching deadly airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to the fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.

More than 8000 Yemenis, including many women and children, have died in the Saudi-led aggression so far.