Iran reiterates its full support for the Sochi deal on the fate of Syria’s Idlib

Tabnak – Iran, Russia and Turkey, as three guarantors of ceasefire in Syria are continuing their joint efforts to find a lasting solution to the 7-year crisis in the Arab country. In this vein, a high-ranking Iranian diplomat underlines Iran’s endorsement to the separate deals reached between its two partners on the Syrian issue.

Iran’s chief negotiator on Syria Hossein Jaberi Ansari says a deal reached between Russia and Turkey last month to attempt to peacefully resolve the issue of Syria’s Idlib Province, the last major stronghold of anti-government militants in the Arab country, was based in its entirety on an Iranian proposal.

In an interview with Press TV, Jaberi Ansari said that Moscow and Ankara did not see eye to eye on how to resolve Idlib. He said Russia was more inclined to resolve the matter more quickly while Turkey sought to indefinitely delay any resolution of the issue.

He said Iran had its own ideas — and offered a third path. Iran came up with a proposal to resolve the matter in a phased and incremental manner, “neither through abrupt [...] war, nor through abrupt peace,” Jaberi Ansari said. That proposal faced “initial resistance” from Russia and Turkey but was later taken up by the two countries.

At the end of a summit in Sochi on September 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed on, among other things, establishing a demilitarized zone in Idlib that would cover an expanse of 15-20 kilometers of land. Militants would have to entirely clear that area by October 15.

Jaberi Ansari said the Sochi “framework and all of its major concepts were Iran’s ideas.” He explained that both the Sochi deal’s “concept” — i.e. resolving matters in a phased and composite manner — and the specific articles envisaged in it were based on Iranian ideas.

Asked about why Iran did not participate in the Sochi meeting, Jaberi Ansari said Iran was “both present and absent.” He said the fact that the deal was entirely based on Iran’s idea is proof of that statement.

And he said Iran does not insist on being present in photo ops and signing ceremonies. “Rather than seeking to show off itself, Iran has been and is after finding solutions,” Jaberi Ansari said.

Also in separate remarks on Wednesday, Jaberi Ansari, highlighted Iran’s leading role in the Syrian peace process and said no county can keep other nations out of the peace talks.

Speaking to reporters in Moscow on Wednesday, Jaberi Ansari reacted to some hostile media reports about Iran’s absence in a recent Syria meeting in Turkey and said, “No country can exclude other countries and Iran’s role in Syria and Astana peace process and the peace in that country is based on reality and heeded by Turkey and other actors.”

He made the remarks after a trilateral meeting with senior experts of Russia and Turkey attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

“With all its power and seriousness, Iran has sided with the Syrian government over the past years, and has made efforts for two years to materialize the idea of peace within the framework of Astana negotiations and its other international communications,” the diplomat said.

"There are many meetings around the globe, and this is normal, so holding a meeting anywhere in the world will not change the political and geopolitical realities,” he added.

The remarks came as Syrian forces continue to reclaim much of southern parts of the country and are poised to soon launch an offensive in Idlib, one of the last remaining areas outside of Damascus’ control.