MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, held negotiations earlier in the day in Moscow.
"Following the consultations, the importance of further coordination between Moscow and Tehran in regional affairs was stressed, including within the format of the Vienna Syrian Support Group," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The statement added that both sides had called for “coordinated efforts by the international community to counter the threat” from the Islamic State jihadist group, the Nusra Front and other extremist groups and called for direct negotiation between the Syrian government and the country's opposition factions to be organized without delay.
On October 30, top diplomats from almost 20 countries, including Russia and the United States, as well as UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, met in the Austrian capital of Vienna to discuss efforts to end to the four-year war in Syria. A second round of international talks on the Syrian crisis will be held in Vienna on Saturday.