Iranian and Turkish deputy foreign ministers, in a meeting in Istanbul on Thursday, underlined the need for a halt in extremist and terrorist acts as well as bloodshed in the Middle East.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian and his Turkish counterpart Omar Unhun urged the world countries to take necessary measures to prevent extremism in the Middle East.

Amir Abdollahian stressed the need for further consultation between Tehran and Ankara on Syria, and explained Iran's viewpoints and positions on important issues of the Middle East and also the necessity for stopping bloodshed and confrontation with extremist and terrorist acts.

The Turkish deputy foreign minister, for his part, pointed to the constructive and influential roles of Iran and Turkey in establishment of peace and stability in the region,

The deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Syria and the upcoming international Geneva II conference on Syria were among the main topics dealt with during his stay in the neighboring country.

International Conference on Syria will be held on January 22 with the participation of representatives from several countries, the Syrian government officials and opponents.

Iranian officials have repeatedly underlined that Tehran is in favor of negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition groups to create stability in the Middle Eastern country.

In November 2012, Iran hosted a meeting between the representatives of the Syrian government and opposition to encourage them to start talks to find a political solution to their problems. The National Dialogue Conference kicked off work in Tehran mid November with the motto of 'No to Violence, Yes to Democracy".

The meeting brought together almost 200 representatives of various Syrian ethnicities, political groups, minorities, the opposition, and state officials.
 

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