DUBAI, June 20. /TASS/. Iranian foreign minister’s senior adviser for special political affairs Ali Asghar Khaji met on Tuesday with Russian presidential envoy for the Middle East and African countries and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported.

According to the news agency, the consultations were held on the sidelines of the Astana-format (Russia, Iran, Turkey) international meeting on Syria. Bogdanov and Khaji discussed the latest developments in the region and the humanitarian situation in Syria, and exchanged views on the normalization of relations between Damascus and Ankara. They stressed the importance of combating terrorism in the region.

According to another Iranian news agency, IRNA, Khaji also met with Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Burak Akcapar. The sides spoke in favor of continuing talks between Damascus and Ankara on the normalization of relations. Iranian representatives also met with the Syrian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Ayman Susan.

The international meeting on Syria in the Astana format is being held in the Kazakh capital city from June 20 to 21. Representatives from the observer countries - Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan - are also taking part. Earlier, Bogdanov said that UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen is expected to take part too.