PUTIN, ERDOGAN, and ROUHANI after a trilateral meeting on Syria, in Ankara on September 16, 2019. Source of the photo: www.arabnews.com
On July 1, 2020, in a virtual meeting the opposing sides in Syria’s war Iran, Russian Federation, and Turkey have held talks reflecting “harmonized” efforts to bring peace to the country after nine years of devastating conflict.
The three countries “expressed the conviction” that Syria’s war had no military solution and must be settled only through a political process.
“The Islamic Republic believes the only solution to the Syrian crisis is political and not a military solution,” the president ROUHANI said in a televised opening address.
“We continue to support the inter-Syrian dialogue and underline our determination to fight the terrorism of Daesh, Al-Qaeda, and other related groups”.
“I emphasize that the fight against terrorism will continue until it is completely eradicated in Syria and the region in general” he added.
The talks are the first since September in the so-called Astana format, in which the three powers discuss developments in Syria.
Iran and Russia have been staunch supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-ASSAD, while Turkey has called for his ouster and backed opposition fighters.
The three parts welcomed a meeting of the Syrian constitutional committee in August, a gathering that is meant to be a step forward in what the UN says will be a long road to political rapprochement followed by-elections.
They agreed to hold the next trilateral summit on Syria in Iran, but gave no date and also agreed apart from the Syrian issue to promote their economic cooperation.
ERDOGAN said that the priority for Syria is a lasting solution to the conflict, “achievement of calm in the field and the protection of Syria’s political unity and territorial integrity”.
“We will continue to do all we can so that our neighbor Syria finds peace, security, and stability soon,” he said.
PUTIN said the objective of the conference was to analyze the situation and agree on steps “to ensure the long-term normalization in Syria”.
“Above all, it is a question of continuing the fight against international terrorism,” he said.
“The most-tense situation is still being observed in territories outside the control of the Syrian army, particularly in the de-escalation zone of Idlib and in northeastern Syria”.
“We need to actively help advance an inclusive inter-Syrian dialogue,” said the Russian leader.
PUTIN also denounced as “illegitimate” the new US sanctions against Syria, highlighting “the negative impact of the sanctions put in place against Syria, bypassing the UN Security Council”.
“Despite the call from the UN Secretary-General for easing the pressure of sanctions under pandemic conditions, Washington like Brussels decided to prolong measures against Syria,” Putin told the conference.
“In addition, new sanctions presumably aimed at economically suffocating Syria have been adopted”.
The conflict in Syria has killed more than 380.000 people and displaced millions since it began in March 2011.
This article was edited using the data from the Aljazeera.com, Arabnews.com, Reuters.com, and, English.alaraby.co.uk.
