TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt held a telephone conversation on Friday, in which they discussed the latest developments in Syria and called for a peaceful settlement of the political crisis in the Arab country. 

 

They also expressed their support for the efforts made by Kofi Annan, the UN-Arab League joint special envoy on Syria, to help resolve the year-long crisis.  

 

Annan has put forward a six-point peace plan for ending the one-year crisis in Syria, which calls for a UN-supervised ceasefire by all parties, the withdrawal of soldiers and heavy weapons from cities, and the delivery of humanitarian assistance.        

 

Salehi and Bildt also said that the continuation of violence and clashes in Syria will only aggravate the situation in the country and undermine the security of the region. 

 

On the new round of talks between Tehran and the 5+1 group (the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany), which started on Saturday in Istanbul, Salehi said that in view of Tehran’s constructive initiatives, Iran is hopeful that the six major powers would adopt a positive approach and prepare the ground for productive and forward-looking negotiations. 

 

The Swedish foreign minister also underlined the need for the settlement of Iran’s nuclear issue through constructive negotiations.