REVIEW - Russia-Iran-Turkey Summit In Ankara Gives New Hope For Progress In Syrian Settlement

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th September, 2019) The Astana-format summit of the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran, held on Monday in Ankara, was productive and it gave a new hope for progress in resolving the Syrian crisis, the leaders of the three countries said after the meeting.

The talks in Ankara have already become the fifth meeting of the leaders of the three guarantor states of the ceasefire in war-torn Syria. Previous summits in this format took place on November 22, 2017 in Sochi, on April 4, 2018 in Ankara, on September 7, 2018 in Tehran, while the previous one was held in Sochi on February 14, 2019. As a result of these meetings, specific measures were agreed to improve the humanitarian situation in Syria and to intensify the political process.

CONCERN ABOUT SITUATION IN IDLIB

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the latest summit in Ankara very productive and successful.

"The fifth consecutive meeting of the leaders of the countries participating in the Astana process on facilitating peace settlement in Syria has been quite productive and successful," the Russian president said during the press conference after the talks.

According to Putin, Moscow believes that after settlement of the Syrian crisis, the country's integrity will be restored and all foreign troops will be withdrawn.

"We all support the territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic. We believe that when issues related to security are resolved, the territorial integrity of Syria will be restored in full," he said.

As for the creation and the launch of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, the Russian president said that he would not set specific dates, adding that the committee had to begin functioning as soon as possible.

"Are there any threats here? I have already named them, first, these are possible provocations on the part of extremists who, in my view, will try to disrupt the work of this process. They are not interested in a final settlement, they earn on... war. But our three countries exist also for this - in order to neutralize these threats," Putin said.

Speaking about the situation in the Syrian province of Idlib, Putin said that the de-escalation zone in Idlib was controlled by radical groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda terrorist organization (banned in Russia), and that Russia together with Iran and Turkey was determined to put an end to the tense situation.

"We, of course, cannot put up with it, so we have agreed with Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Rouhani to continue the coordinated work aimed at eradicating completely the tensions in Idlib," the Russian leader noted.

He also stressed that Russia on its part is determined to support the Syrian army in conducting local operations with the aim of stemming the terrorist threat wherever it appears. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in this regard that there were no plans for a joint Russia-Turkey-Iran military operation in Idlib, adding that it was necessary to increase the effectiveness of steps to combat terrorists there.

EVERYTHING READY FOR CREATION OF SYRIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COMMITTEE

The situation in the Idlib de-escalation zone, which has experienced a spike of tensions over the past several weeks, and the establishment of the Constitutional Committee in Syria have become the key discussion topics at the trilateral summit in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a press conference following the talks.

"We have made the escalation of the situation in Idlib one of the main priority issues of our meeting. The airborne and ground operations, which have resulted in about a thousand civilian casualties in Idlib. Hundreds of thousands of residents had to leave their homes again," Erdogan said.

He stressed that the de-escalation zone must be prevented from becoming a terrorist corridor.

As for the creation of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, Erdogan believes that all problems and issues, standing on the way of forming it, have been eliminated.

"A flexible approach has been exercised in terms of promoting the political settlement of this matter. All problems and issues, standing on the way of forming a constitutional committee, have been eliminated. The consultations resulted in our decision to approach in a coordinated manner the question of finalizing the composition of the committee, together with the United Nations," Erdogan said.

SYRIAN CRISIS HAS ONLY POLITICAL SOLUTION

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani believes that the Syrian crisis and other crises in the middle East should be resolved politically and peacefully.

"Iran continues to believe that the Syrian crisis has only a political solution, which can only be achieved through constructive interaction between the Syrian people. The Syrian government and people, with all their diversity, are able to follow this important and, of course, difficult path. The Islamic Republic of Iran from the very beginning emphasized the ineffectiveness of a military solution to this crisis, and this fact remains in force," Rouhani said after the summit.

According to the Iranian president, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly known as the Nusra Front terrorist group, banned in Russia) has increased its presence in Syria's Idlib over the past months.

"The leaders of the three countries [Iran, Russia and Turkey] are convinced that the fight against terrorism must continue. Idlib is still in the hands of terrorists. Unfortunately, the number of terrorists, including those from the Nusra Front, in the region has increased in recent months," Rouhani said.

Russia, Turkey and Iran support the unity of Syria and its territorial integrity and oppose the presence of foreign troops in the country, which came without the invitation from the official authorities in Damascus, Rouhani said.

"[The United States], unfortunately, has very dangerous goals in Syria and seeks to divide the country. For our three countries this is unacceptable, bad intentions of the United States are obvious," Rouhani said.

The Iranian president noted that the Astana process on Syrian settlement could become a model for reconciliation in Yemen.

The next, sixth Russia-Iran-Turkey summit on Syria will be held in Iran, according to a joint statement adopted by the presidents of the three guarantor states.