Iranian and UN officials discussed a range of issues related to Syria, particularly the humanitarian situation, in a meeting in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi late on Monday.
Hossein Jaberi Ansari, Iranian foreign minister's special assistant for political affairs, and the UN’s Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura exchanged views on ways to find a political settlement to the years-long crisis, the formation of a committee to revise that country's constitution, provision of humanitarian assistance and the return of refugees, ISNA reported.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of talks spearheaded by Russia, Turkey and Iran, which were attended by delegations from the Syrian government and the opposition.
The two-day meeting, which ended on Tuesday, were held within the framework of the Astana diplomatic track, which is sponsored by the three nations and is separate to UN-led efforts in Geneva.
Jaberi Ansari held talks with several officials in Sochi, including Bashar Jaafari, Syria's ambassador to the UN who was present on behalf of his government, and Aleksandr Lavrentyev, the Kremlin's special envoy for Syria who led the Russian delegation, Fars News Agency reported.
New Talks
De Mistura plans talks with Tehran, Moscow and Ankara in September to start finalizing the composition of the body intended to draft a new Syrian Constitution, a statement said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
He has received lists from the Syrian government and opposition on proposed candidates for the constitutional committee.
"The special envoy looks forward to holding formal consultations (with the three countries)...very early in September in Geneva, in order to begin to finalize the constitutional committee," the statement said.
Releasing of Detainees
The focus of the 10th round of the Astana-format talks in Sochi was on the return of Syrian refugees to the country, the release of prisoners and the establishment of a committee tasked with rewriting the Syrian Constitution.
Officials from Turkey, Russian and Iran on Monday agreed to the mutual release of some Syrian detainees from both the government and opposition sides, the daily Sabah reported.
The main aim of both diplomatic tracks—Astana and Geneva—have been to achieve a political transition and a military ceasefire in Syria. The Geneva talks have been stalled for the past six months, according to Al Jazeera.
