Establishment of contact group on Syria to be discussed at NAM meeting

TEHRAN,Aug.26(MNA) – Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said that the proposal for the establishment of a contact group to help defuse the Syrian crisis through political channels will be discussed on the sidelines of the XVI Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement. Mehmanparast made the remarks during a news conference in Tehran on Saturday in reference to the proposal that was put forward in a statement issued at the end of the one-day Tehran Consultative Meeting on Syria, which was held on August 9. The XVI Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement opened in Tehran today and closes on Friday. The Foreign Ministry official stated that the summit will provide a good opportunity for the like-minded and influential countries to discuss the situation in Syria so that the plans put forward in regard to Syria can produce positive results. The Tehran Consultative Meeting on Syria was chaired by Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, and delegates from Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Belarus, Benin, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Maldives, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, and the United Nations attended the meeting.