Ranking diplomats from Iran and China stressed that only Syrian people have the right to decide their country's fate, with both underlining the need for a serious fight against terrorist groups in the Arab country.
A Chinese diplomat, who has been recently appointed as the Chinese government's representative for Syrian affairs, held a meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Tehran on Tuesday, Tasnim News Agency reported.
Voicing Beijing's support for a political solution to the crisis in Syria and reliance on the results of political negotiations, the Chinese envoy insisted that shaping Syria's future, drawing up a new constitution and electing the president should be left to the Syrian nation, without any foreign interference. The Iranian deputy minister deplored the lack of serious international actions against terrorist groups in Syria, which the International Syria Support Group had agreed to pursue alongside the political talks.
The Iranian and Chinese officials both denounced violations of a ceasefire by the armed opposition groups in Syria, and called for the delivery of humanitarian aid in all parts of the war-torn country.
Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including the self-styled Islamic State militant group, currently controlling parts of it.
According to a new report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others and displaced nearly half of the country's prewar population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.
