Zarif Goes to Geneva for Syria Peace Talks

Foreign Minister Zarif arrived in the Swiss city of Geneva on Tuesday evening to take part in a meeting of foreign ministers of member states of the Astana Process.

The top Iranian diplomat is going to attend a trilateral meeting with his Russian and Turkish counterparts and to hold a meeting with the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen on Tuesday night.

The meeting of foreign ministers of the three member states of the Astana Process is coinciding with the inaugural meeting of the Syrian Constitutional Committee.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the formation of the Syrian Constitutional Committee is the outcome of constant efforts by the Islamic Republic of Iran and the other partners within the framework of the Astana Process.

Announcing the plan for discussions with Iran’s Foreign Minister Zarif, Turkey’s Mevlut Cavusoglu, and Russia’s Sergei Lavrov, Pedersen said on Monday that the fighting in northeast Syria and Idlib province was “just another proof of the importance to get a serious political process under way”.

The meeting of Syria’s Constitutional Committee will begin with a plenary session involving 50 delegates each from three blocs – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s administration, the Turkish-backed political opposition movement and civil society representatives.