“Assad's government had little flexibility and little speed in this direction. The internal discussion of Syria, talking with the opponents or possibly confronting them, was related to the Syrian side itself, and we ultimately helped them in terms of advice, consultation, and guidance,” Abbas Araghchi told Iran’s state IRNA news agency.
“What was surprising was the inability of the Syrian army to counter this movement which started,” he said, referring to the lightning offensive by Syrian rebels against the Syrian army.
Syria’s civil war dramatically reignited late last month when a coalition of rebels led by the jihadist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a blistering offensive against the Syrian army, seizing the northern city of Aleppo, Hama, Homs, and culminating their victory by capturing the capital Damascus as Assad fled to Moscow, ending over five decades of Baathist rule.
Araghchi said that Tehran communicated all relevant information with Damascus about the meetings in the past week with Turkey and Russia - key players in Syria.
“We always guided the Syrian government to talk with its opponents in order to resolve the differences between them, and we cooperated with them in this matter to the extent of advice and guidance,” Araghchi said.
On Monday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a government meeting on Syria that the people of Syria should “decide on the future of this country and its political and government system.”
The foreign ministers of Iraq, Russia, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and Qatar met in Doha on Saturday to discuss recent developments in Syria and called for a political solution to the crisis that halts military operations.
On Sunday, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed al-Jalali announced that he was ready to cooperate with any leadership chosen by the people and to hand over governmental powers.
.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
