Pakistan’s foreign minister says both Iran and the US have ‘‘expressed confidence in Pakistan to facilitate’‘ talks.

He says Pakistan ‘‘will be honoured to host and facilitate meaningful talks between the two sides in the coming days’‘.

However, there was no mention about whether Iran or the US had confirmed they would take part in peace talks.

Foreign minister Ishaq Dar made these comments following the first day of meetings in Islamabad between foreign ministers from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt.

According to Dar, the group discussed possible ways to bring an early and permanent end to the war in the region. He expressed his profound gratitude to all three for their support to Pakistan’s efforts for peace in the region.

Dar also says he had spoken to the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the Secretary General of the United Nations, both of whom expressed support for the peace initiative.

After a meeting earlier today between Pakistan’s prime minister and Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Pakistan released a separate statement saying Pakistan would ‘‘always stand shoulder to shoulder’‘ with Saudi Arabia and that Pakistan appreciated the ‘‘remarkable restraint’‘ exercised by the country.

Source: BBC
--Agencies