Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed on Saturday on the need for Moscow, Ankara and Tehran to exert collective efforts for peace within the framework of the Astana talks to reach a solution to the Syrian conflict. He made his remarks after holding talks in Moscow with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu and, later, Irans Mohammad Javad Zarif. Russia, Turkey and Iran have been attempting to resolve the Syrian conflict at talks that started last year in Astana, Kazakhstan, in competition with a US and UN-backed Geneva initiative. Lavrov said the three countries "must help the Syrians finish cleansing their country of terrorists." Also on Saturday, Iran and Russia slammed Western strikes against the Syrian regime in response to its chemical attack on Douma on April 7. Lavrov said they "set back efforts to promote the political process" and Zarif criticized Washingtons "destructive role." French President Emmanuel Macron this month suggested the air strikes had driven a wedge between Ankara and Moscow, prompting an angry denial from Cavusoglu. Alexander Shumilin, a Middle East expert at the Institute for US and Canadian Studies in Moscow, however, said the Douma fallout had "caused a crack in the alliance of three countries". Alexey Malashenko, a specialist in the Syria conflict, said the trio have a "very shaky" alliance and "theres no way they can reach an agreement" over the suspected chemical attack. The next Syria talks in Astana are meanwhile set for May 14. Eight rounds of talks under United Nations auspices in Geneva have made little headway, with the Syrian regime showing little interest.