TEHRAN, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, and Russia's envoy on Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, met here on Tuesday to discuss the latest developments in the Arab state, Tasnim news agency reported.
The meeting between the Iranian and Russian officials came ahead of the next round of Syria peace talks in Kazakhstan's capital city of Astana, slated for mid-September.
In the meeting, Shamkhani hailed recent advances of the Syrian army and allied forces against foreign-backed terrorists in the Syrian Deir ez-Zor and said that strategic cooperation among Iran, Russia, Syria and the resistance front in the "real campaign against terrorism" is constantly yielding valuable results.
He urged respect for Syria's national sovereignty, saying that all parties' commitment to an inter-Syria talks and its people's self-determination right will pave the ground for ending the crisis.
For his part, Lavrentiev, briefed Shamkhani on Russia's latest diplomatic efforts and talks with other countries on Syria and highlighted the decisive role of Iran, Russia, and Syria in the fight against terrorism.
The Astana initiative is jointly organized by Iran, Russia and Turkey and aims to settle the lingering deadly conflict in Syria.
