Tabnak – In a sign of willingness to continue their coordination on the Syrian issue, presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey gathered together in Russian city of Sochi to talk about the Syrian political process. As the result of the talks, the three parts reiterated their support of Syria’s integrity and sovereignty.
The high-profile meeting kicked off in Sochi on Wednesday evening as part of political efforts by Iran, Russia and Turkey to ensure peace in Syria, which is recovering from a civil war that started in 2011 and turned into a brutal militancy including a large number of terrorist groups.
In the summit, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan weighed up plans for sustainable calm in Syria and discussed a subsequent congress for intra-Syrian talks about the future of the Arab country in the post-ISIS era.
According to the news published by the media, at the end of the tripartite talks, the three presidents issued a statement to call for unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Syria.
The text endorsed by Presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey reads that the three countries are determined to help restore peace and stability in Syria underlined in the UNSC Resolution 2254. Iran, Russia and Turkey are to help maintain ceasefire in Syria, the statement said. The three countries also agreed to continue cooperation till final annihilation of the terrorist groups in Syria, it added.
Also in a press conference after the meeting, Rouhani said the three officials discussed holding an all-Syrian congress, which will see representatives from all sides in Sochi to exchange views on the fate of the country and pave the way for the drafting of a new constitution and elections.
Iran, Russia and Turkey invite all countries to help peace in the Middle East region, including in Syria, contribute to the reconstruction of Syria and return of refugees to their homes, he added.
Putin also said that the three leaders had agreed to a "congress" of Syria's government and opposition forces in Sochi, adding that had instructed their diplomats, security and defense bodies to work on the composition and date of the congress.
The congress would "gather representatives of different political parties, internal and external opposition" to discuss "the parameters of the future state," Putin said, adding that it would be "a stimulus for activating the efforts for Syria regulation in the framework of the Geneva process."
Erdogan also emphasized that the three nations would help stage a meeting of Syrian groups hosted by Russia and that they agreed to keep working on the peace process in Syria.
The Wednesday talks came as Iran, Russia and Turkey are acting as the guarantors of a ceasefire that took effect in Syria late last year. On November 19, ISIS terrorists were flushed out of their last stronghold in Syria’s Albu Kamal. Liberation of the city marked an end to the group’s self-proclaimed caliphate it had declared in 2014.
