Representatives of the Syrian government and opposition groups agreed in Tehran on Monday to establish a joint committee to promote national dialogue in Syria.

Representatives of the Syrian government and opposition groups agreed in Tehran on Monday to establish a joint committee to promote national dialogue in Syria, Mehr news agency reported.

The agreement was made on the last day of the two-day Syrian national dialogue meeting, which was held on the theme of “No to Violence, Yes to Democracy.”

About 200 Syrian citizens, including religious leaders, party leaders, political figures, tribal chiefs, and representatives of Syrian opposition groups, as well as representatives from Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, and a number of other countries, attended the meeting.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian told the stae-run news agency IRNA on Monday that “main task of the committee is to make preparations for holding the next national dialogue meeting in the city of Damascus, the capital of Syria.”

After Monday’s meeting, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said the committee is tasked with establishing contact with other representatives of the Syrian people to help promote national dialogue and implement political reforms.

“We took the initiative to hold negotiations between Syrian groups and are responsible for facilitating the talks. We will not continue leading the national dialogue between Syrian groups, but rather groups within Syria should continue the move initiated by Iran,” Salehi also told IRNA on the same day.