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Russian envoy, Syrian counterpart discuss aftermath of Israeli strikes on Damascus

The sides reaffirmed the importance of resuming the meetings of the Syrian Constitutional Committee and the problems of political settlement in the country

MOSCOW, April 9. /TASS/. Russian Presidential Special Envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and representative of the Syrian opposition Popular Front for Change and Liberation and head of the Syrian opposition’s Moscow Platform Qadri Jamil discussed the situation in Syria after the Israeli Air Force attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"During the conversation the sides held an in-depth exchange of views on the development of the situation in and around Syria, including taking into account the recent strike by the Israeli Air Force on the building of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, fraught with extremely dangerous consequences on the scale of the entire Middle East region," the ministry reported.

The sides also reaffirmed the importance of resuming the meetings of the Syrian Constitutional Committee and the problems of political settlement in the country.

On April 1, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said seven Iranian advisers were killed in an Israeli Air Force strike on the country’s consulate in Damascus. They were generals Mohammed Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, along with five other officers. According to the Iranian television channel IRIB, Zahedi commanded Quds forces in Lebanon and Syria.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed that Iran will make Israel regret the strike, while Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned the attack will not go unanswered. Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for the incident. Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari told CNN that the strike hit a military building of the IRGC in Damascus, not a consulate.

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Foreign policy Syria

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