UN chief says time is running out for Syria talks

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu and his Syrian counterpart Fahd Jassem al-Freij will participate in the meeting on the official invitation of their Iranian counterpart Hossein Dehqan.

According to Iranian state television, which quoted Dehghan, the three ministers agreed to conduct “decisive” war against “all terrorist groups”.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Russian Federation, which with Washington is co-chair of the International Syrian Support Group, had passed on a Syrian offer to permit one convoy on Friday.

Dehghan thanked the Russian and Syrian defense ministers for meeting with him in Tehran to “exchange ideas, cooperation and adopting of strategic decisions to defeat the risky plot which has [sought] instability, disintegration and the distortion of the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of countries in the region”.

Shoigu said fighting terrorism is an global duty which all countries should work together to fulfill in order to have a more secure world. “The terrorists and their supporters must know that the group fighting against them is determined to support this route until the end and will do so”. He also accused the U.S. and Israel of patronizing terrorism in the troubled Middle East region.

“The aggressive policy based on hegemony, which is being pursued by the United States, Israel and some other countries, which patronize terrorism, stands behind the current regional crisis”.

Iran, as an anchor of stability and peace in the region and a major victim of terrorism, has always stood firm in the face of terror, occupation and aggression, he added.

Bouthaina Shaaban, a top adviser to President Bashar al-Assad, said last week that “nobody is starving in Daraya”, which was “producing peas and beans and food and wild berries that is enough for the entire Syria”.

Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) revealed that after nine months of Russian interference in Syria, the Tehran meeting will chiefly discuss operations in Syria; especially the efforts of Russian air power.

The United States, Britain and France are advocating air drops to areas inaccessible by land in order to break through the impasse caused by lack of support and access by the Syrian government and rebels.

He also called on the Syrian government to allow unhindered humanitarian access within the war torn country, saying withholding access is a war crime.