Putin Sends Confidential Letter to Rouhani

The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin's point man on Syria has delivered a "confidential" letter penned by the Russian head of state to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

"I can confirm the submission of the Russian president's letter to his Iranian counterpart but cannot reveal its details," Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, Press TV reported, citing Russian news agency TASS. 

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi had earlier said Russia's special envoy on Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev, who recently visited Iran, carried a message from Putin to "Iranian political leaders".   

Lavrentiev met with Rouhani in Tehran on Saturday. Russia, a Syria ally, has been providing military assistance to Damascus in its battle against foreign-backed militancy. Iran, also an ally of Damascus, has been lending advisory support to the Syrian counterterrorism push.

Russia and Iran hold regular and close consultations concerning the situation in Syria by coordinating their efforts in helping purge the Arab country of foreign-backed terrorists.

Also on Monday, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov met Hossein Jaberi Ansari, the deputy Iranian foreign minister for Arab and African Affairs, in Tehran.

Commenting on the meeting's agenda, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, "Tehran and Moscow's positions to politically resolve the Syrian crisis are the same."

The statement said during the meeting, the two sides highlighted that the armed conflict in Syria does not have a military solution. It was emphasized that the conflict can only be resolved through political channels and unconditional intra-Syria dialogue based on United Nations Security Council resolutions, the Geneva Communiqué issued in June 30, 2012, and the decision of pro-Syria international groups, the statement added.

The Geneva Communique, which was adopted in the first international meeting on the ongoing crisis in Syria in the Swiss city, sketches the steps in a process to end the violence in Syria.

The Russian statement concluded that the Tehran talks had placed emphasis on "the immutability of the two countries' shared, principled position" on addressing the humanitarian situation while continuing the fight against the terrorists of the self-styled Islamic State, al-Nusra Front, and other active militant groups in Syria.