MOSCOW (Sputnik) — He added that Tehran's decision to join the efforts of both Moscow and Ankara aimed at the settlement of the Syrian crisis showed that all these states were ready to move beyond their ambitions in order to settle the problem.
"I think that rapprochement of Russia and Turkey, especially reaching an agreement in the area where we have had absolutely opposite views on the situation [in Syria], we have supported different parties to the Syrian conflict and I think that it is a significant achievement that we have become almost peacekeepers, that we have reached the cessation of hostilities," Vitaly Naumkin said on the sidelines of the conference dubbed "The Middle East: When will tomorrow come?" organized by the Valdai Discussion Club.
Moscow and Ankara, along with Tehran, have also made a number of efforts aimed at the cessation of hostilities in the crisis-torn state, such as establishment of a trilateral mechanism on monitoring the ceasefire in Syria.
ussia and Turkey are guarantors of a nationwide Syrian ceasefire that came into force on December 30, and has been holding up in general, despite continued reports of violations. The UN Security Council passed a resolution in December supporting the effort.
