Tehran, Dec 18 (IANS) Iran backs talks between the Syrian government and the opposition groups, a senior Iranian diplomat was quoted as saying by media Thursday.

Iran supports Russia’s recent initiative to host a “Syrian-Syrian dialogue” in an attempt to end the three-year-old conflict in the country, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said, according to Xinhua which cited Iranian media.

It is necessary to hold national reconciliation talks between the government and moderate opposition in Syria, he said.

The Iranian official also said that these talks “should respect legal and international principles, including territorial integrity, national sovereignty and the unity of the Arab country”.