Erdogan suggests Iraq, Lebanon be invited to Astana process on Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suggested that Iraq and Lebanon be included in the Astana process on the Syrian settlement, TASS reports with a reference to Hurriyet Daily News.

"The next (trilateral) summit (of Russia, Turkey and Iran on Syria) will be held in Turkey. During the talks (in Sochi) I said that we can include Iraq and Lebanon in the Astana process since both those countries have common borders with Syria and various relationships with the country," the Turkish leader was quoted as saying after the trilateral summit on Syria in Sochi.

According to the president, "representatives of the countries’ foreign ministries will jointly work over that issue, and they (Iraq and Lebanon - TASS) will be able to make the Astana process even more efficient in case of reaching an agreement on it."