TEHRAN – Defense ministers of Iran, Russia and Syria will be holding a trilateral meeting in Tehran on Thursday to exchange views on the latest regional developments and coordinate counterterrorism efforts, Tasnim reported on Wednesday.

There has been close cooperation among the three countries in the Syrian battlefield, where the Russian airpower has played a vital role in fighting terrorist groups, helping the Syrian army to gain ground against them.

On the other hand, Iran has been more active on the ground, providing the Syrian army with advisory helps.

Defense ministers Sergey Kuzhugetovich Shoygu of Russia and Fahd Jasim al-Furayj of Syria are attending the session upon a formal invitation by their Iranian counterpart Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan.

It is not clear exactly what the major themes of the meeting will be, but they are most likely expected to discuss the latest regional developments and weigh plans to reinforce the war on terrorism.

Also, one possible agenda will be to coordinate offensives and plans now that the Syrian army is nearing Raqqa.

Raqqa is Daesh’s de facto capital, and the province has been a major base of operations for the group.

Civil war has been boiling in Syria since March 2011, vast territories of which are now under the control of terrorists.

The war has killed at least 260,000 people, according to the UN, and more than half of Syria’s pre-war population of 22.4 million has been internally displaced or fled abroad, according to Tasnim.

AK/PA