Iran FM in Cairo talks on Syria conflict

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi held talks on the Syrian crisis with his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo Thursday, officials said, a day after he met briefly with peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. Egypt's foreign ministry said that Salehi and Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr "exchanged views on the Syrian crisis and means of finding a solution" to the conflict which the UN says has killed more than 60,000 people. Salehi, whose country is a key ally of the Syrian regime, is also due to hold talks while he is in Cairo with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, who has urged President Bashar al-Assad to step down and backed calls that he be tried for war crimes. An Iranian diplomat told AFP that Salehi met Brahimi late Wednesday on his arrival in Cairo for the two-day visit. No details were given on that meeting, which came just before Brahimi, the UN-Arab League special envoy for Syria, left Cairo for Geneva to discuss Syria's 21-month conflict with Russian and US officials. Iran is the only country to have come out in support of a three-step plan to end Syria's civil war outlined Sunday by Assad in a rare speech in Damascus. "Assad's plan includes solutions which reject violence and terrorism and any foreign interference in the country, and outlines a comprehensive political process" Salehi said in a statement on Monday.