Russia praises cooperation with Turkey, Iran over Syria

By Emre Gurkan Abay

MOSCOW (AA) - Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday praised joint efforts with Turkey and Iran in organizing the upcoming Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi.

Speaking at a joint news conference with his Iranian counterpart Jawad Zarif, Lavrov said an important phase had been reached in organizing the Sochi congress.

"The aforementioned phase has been reached through efforts by Russia, Turkey and Iran," he said.

Sochi is the designated venue of the congress, set to be held on Jan. 29-30 with the participation of about 1,700 people.

Lavrov also added Geneva talks regained its importance following the start of Astana talks last year initiated by Turkey, Russia and Iran.

Zarif said: "We are committed to cooperating with you [Russia] and our Turkish friends, and moving in the same direction..."

The upcoming congress is expected to be attended by all sectors of Syrian society except for terror groups.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN officials.