Aleppo victory crucial to restore peace to Syria

The recapture of Syria's northern city of Aleppo will be conducive in restoring peace to all of Syria, a visiting Iranian official said Wednesday.

The Syrian army's victory in Aleppo is a big step toward restoring security and stability to all of Syria, said Alaeddin Boroujerdi, chairman of the Iranian parliament's national security commission.

Broujerdi said his visit to Syria was to congratulate the Syrian administration of President Bashar al-Assad on the victory in Aleppo, where the Syrian army backed by Shiite fighters succeed to take over the city last month.

During his meeting with Assad, the Iranian official stressed that his country will continue to support the Syrian government in the war on terror.

For his part, Assad pointed out that Iran is a partner in the military achievements on ground through the political and economic support the Islamic republic renders for the Syrian government.

Following the meeting, Broujerdi told reporters that his country supports the inter-Syrian talks to reach a political solution to the country's nearly six-year-old conflict.

"The destiny of Syria should be identified by the Syrian people, and every decision taken outside the Syrian borders without the consent of the Syrian people will not be successful," he said.

Broujerdi also pointed out to the presence of Iranian advisers in Syria, as well as the Lebanese Hezbollah group, saying the presence of the advisers and Hezbollah in Syria came after coordination with the Syrian government, stressing that the parties that have entered Syria without the consent of the Syrian government must leave.

The visit comes as a Turkish-Russian sponsored ceasefire went into effect at midnight Friday, and continued throughout the week with breaches reported in several areas, mainly in the Wadi Barada town northwest of the capital Damascus.

The rebels accused the government forces of breaching the truce in Wadi Barada, while the Syrian army made it clear that it was fighting the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front in the town, as the Nusra was excluded from the deal due to being designated as a terrorist group by the UN.

The Nusra fighters in Wadi Barada have cut off the drinking water from the capital Damascus since Dec. 22, prompting the army to mount a major offensive in that area to recapture it and return the water pumping into the capital after all deals for evacuating the rebels from that area peacefully had failed.

The tension in Wadi Barada has recently pushed several rebel groups to announce freezing talks on planned peace negotiations that are planned to take place in Astana, Kazakhstan, as part of the Turkish-Russian deal.

Local analysts have played down the rebel statement, saying that decision is not theirs entirely, as the last say will be for Turkey, which is negotiating on their behalf.

source: Xinhua