MOSCOW, December 24. /TASS/. President of Russia and Iran, Vladimir Putin and Hassan Rouhani, pointed out in a phone talk that the end of the joint operation liberating Aleppo from militants had become a milestone on the road to victory over international terror in Syria and to peace in that country, the Kremlin press service said on Saturday.
"It was agreed to continue close cooperation on issues related to assistance in finding a political solution to the Syria crisis, particularly with regard to holding negotiations among the interested sides in Astana with the aim to reach precisely formulated agreements," the statement says.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani offered his sincere condolences over the assassination of Russia’s Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov.
Karlov, was gunned down on December 19 as he was speaking at the opening of a photo exhibition Russia from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka through a Traveler’s Eyes. The Turkish authorities identified the attacker as former police officer Mevlut Mert Altyntash. He was promptly eliminated by the local security forces. The attacker had injured three other persons. The Russian Foreign Ministry has qualified the attack as an act of terror and the Investigative Committee instituted a criminal case under the article of international terrorism.