UPDATES WITH REMARKS FROM RUSSIAN PRESIDENT, IRANIAN PRESIDENT
By Sena Guler, Zafer Fatih Beyaz, Muhammet Kursun and Elena Teslova
ANKARA / MOSCOW (AA) – Protecting the political unity and territorial integrity in neighboring Syria is a priority, the Turkish president said Wednesday.
"Maintaining the political unity and territorial integrity of Syria, the establishment of calm on the ground, and a lasting solution to the conflict are our priority," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a video link summit of the leaders of Turkey, Russia, and Iran under the Astana process.
“The trilateral summit process under the Astana format that we initiated in November 2017 has made critical contributions to the establishment of peace, security and stability in Syria,” Erdogan said, adding that today’s meeting is the sixth one under the format.
“Turkey has been standing with our Syrian brothers and sisters since the start of the conflict,” he said, adding that the country has welcomed millions of Syrians without discrimination since start of the civil war in 2011.
Turkey hosts some 4 million Syrian refugees, more than any other country in the world.
Erdogan added that Turkey has also stepped in with troops to prevent humanitarian crises and frustrate separatists, referring to a trio of operations launched since 2016 to fight terrorists and provide security in northern Syria, just south of Turkey’s border.
"We'll continue to do our best to provide peace, security, and stability in our neighbor Syria," he said.
“The cooperation we will show as Astana guarantors will, no doubt, determine the future of this country,” he added.
The trilateral meeting is ongoing with the attendance of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
From the Turkish side, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar are also present at the meeting.
– Iran believes in political solution to Syrian crisis
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani criticized the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act signed by US President Donald Trump in December against the Syrian regime, calling it "economic terrorism".
The act seeks to impose financial and travel sanctions on those responsible for the killing of civilians and deny the Assad regime financial resources.
Rouhani underlined that Tehran will continue supporting the Assad regime in Syria.
Highlighting that only the Astana process contributes to the peaceful solution of the Syrian crisis, he said a lot of gains were achieved during these trilateral talks.
“It has been nine years since the Syrian crisis began. Iran believes in a political solution. There will be no military solution to this crisis,” Rouhani stressed.
– Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed with his Iranian counterpart about the importance of joint efforts in Syria, saying that the three countries managed to do a lot together.
“The level of violence in Syria has been noticeably reduced, peaceful life is gradually being restored, and most importantly, the prerequisites for a sustainable political and diplomatic settlement based on United Nations Security Council resolution 2254 have been created. As you know, this document lays down a fundamental principle – commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria,” he said.
Putin called the necessity to analyze the current state of affairs in Syria as one of the main goals of the video conference.
“One of the main goals of today's video conference is to analyze the current state of affairs in this country together. To agree on what further steps could be taken to ensure long-term normalization in the Syrian Arab Republic.
“First of all, we are talking about continuing the fight against international terrorism. And we need to think about what other measures are needed to neutralize the still active terrorist groups,” Putin said.
He named two hotspots in Syria, where the tensions are most acute – Idlib and the east of the Euphrates river.
“On Idlib, we continue to work closely with our Turkish friends in order to implement the agreements of the Sochi Memorandum of Sept. 17, 2018 and its additional Protocol of March 5 this year. Of course, not all the tasks have been solved yet, not everything has been done, but the efforts made are still yielding results. For example, with the introduction of the cease-fire, the situation in the de-escalation zone has significantly stabilized,” Putin added.
Putin urged to promote the inter-Syrian political dialogue on the platform of the UN Geneva office and suggested steps on the settlement of the post-conflict situation in Syria, restoration of economy and social sphere, and return of refugees and internally displaced persons.
“In the context of the spread of coronavirus infection, the coordination of our efforts on the humanitarian track of settlement becomes even more urgent,” the president added.
Putin slammed the US sanctions against Syria as “illegal”, saying they worsen the situation in the war-torn country.
“According to the World Food Program, more than 9 million Syrians, or half of the population, need food aid. We could use the appropriate channels to provide humanitarian assistance and support the Syrian people,” he said.
Russia intends to work consistently together with Turkey and Iran to establish a lasting peace and stability in Syria, Putin said, confirming his readiness to come to Tehran as soon as “the necessary conditions are in place”.
* Zehra Nur Duz contributed to this story from Ankara
