Lavrov, Zarif Discuss Preparations for Syrian Talks in Vienna

The top diplomats of Russia and Iran discussed their upcoming meeting on counterterrorism and the Syrian crisis.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Zarif, discussed over the telephone their upcoming meeting slated for the end of this week on the situation in Syria, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

“In developing the last contacts, Sergei Lavrov and Mohammad Zarif exchanged opinions on the preparations for a meeting slated for this week in Vienna of ‘foreign players’ and other key countries in the region to discuss ways of coordinating efforts in the fight against terrorism and action in intra-Syrian political talks soon to be launched,” the ministry said.

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with government forces fighting opposition factions aiming to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Since the beginning of the war, the United States and some of its allies have supported "the moderate" Syrian opposition and called for Assad's resignation, while Russia and Iran recognized Assad as the only legitimate Syrian authority.

Syria, as well as Iraq, has also been suffering from the Islamic State, which has proclaimed a caliphate on the land under its control, and has carried out multiple attacks in the region and in other countries.

On September 30, Russia began an air campaign against Islamic State terrorists in Syria at the request of Assad. Russia, Syria, Iraq and Iran created the Baghdad Information Center to coordinate joint military action against ISIL.