Iran says Astana talks realization of Assad's legitimacy: official

A senior Iranian official said here Tuesday that the concluded Syria talks in Kazakh capital of Astana have acknowledged the legitimacy of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, Tasnim news agency reported.

"The Astana meeting demonstrated that all parties, both Turkey and the opposition groups, and even countries not present there (in the talks), have somehow recognized the Syrian government's legitimacy, directly and indirectly," said Ali Akbar Velayati, the senior advisor to Iran's supreme leader.

He expressed the hope that Astana negotiations would help a ceasefire in Syria, but added that one should not expect the talks to put an end to all hostilities.

"Such meetings should continue, and in every meeting forward steps should be taken," Velayati was quoted as saying.

The two-day inter-Syria talks, concluded in Astana on Tuesday, were the result of a Russian-Turkish initiative which excluded terror-designated groups such as the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and the Islamic State group.

In a joint statement issued in Astana on Tuesday, Russia, Turkey and Iran called for a political settlement of the current crisis in Syria, saying that they will establish a trilateral mechanism to safeguard the full ceasefire in the Middle East nation. Endit