Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi said his country is ready to host the next meeting of the quartet group on Syria set to start in the near future, semi- official Fars news agency reported Sunday.
Speaking at a joint press conference with visiting Guinea- Bissau's foreign minister here in Tehran, Salehi said that he has contacted his counterparts in the group -- foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey -- in a bid to speed up diplomatic efforts to find a solution to the Syrian crisis, according to the report.
"A foreign ministerial meeting was decided to be held in the near future and we voiced our preparedness to host the meeting," Salehi said.
On Saturday, Press TV reported that Syrian Parliament Speaker Jihad Allaham would pay a four-day official visit to Iran on Monday.
During his stay in Tehran, the Syrian speaker is set to hold talks with Iran's Majlis (parliament) Speaker Ali Larijani, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili and Salehi.
Last week, head of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi met with Syrian officials in Damascus and reiterated Iran's all-out support for the Syrian government and a political solution to the Syrian crisis. Endi