Syria needs peaceful ground for promoting national dialogue: Iranian official

TEHRAN, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian has said that at the present juncture Syria needs a peaceful atmosphere to promote a national dialogue among warring parties, the official IRNA news agency reported Wednesday.

Referring to a ministerial meeting on Syria to be held in Tehran on Thursday, Amir Abdollahian said the meeting with the participation of a number of countries that have influential views on both regional and international issues will examine the Syrian developments.

He said the participants in the meeting, including foreign ministers from the Middle Eastern and other counties, will discuss the need for negating violence in Syria.

Amir Abdollahian noted that the meeting is planned to focus on comprehensive regional and international efforts to help Syrian nation out of the present crisis.

Local media said Monday that the consultative meeting on Syria would be participated by foreign ministers from 12 countries. The report did not specify the names of the countries. Enditem