2 yıl önce

Leaders of Türkiye, Russia, Iran vow to oppose terrorist presence in Syria

Erdogan, Putin, Raisi pledge to stand against separatist agendas aimed at undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of war-torn Syria, according to a trilateral statement.

Türkiye, Iran and Russia held the seventh Astana format summit for Syria in Tehran, and the next summit will be held in Russia.

Leaders of Türkiye, Russia and Iran have condemned the increased presence and activities of terrorist groups and their affiliates in various parts of Syria, rejecting in their trilateral statement "all attempts to create new realities on the ground."

Tuesday's statement came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, and Iran's Ebrahim Raisi met in Iran's capital Tehran for the seventh summit in the Astana format to discuss Syria, the fight against terrorists, particularly the YPG/PKK and Daesh, the humanitarian situation and the voluntary return of the Syrian refugees to their homes.

They also "expressed their opposition to the illegal seizure and transfer of oil revenues that should belong to Syria," while they also "rejected all attempts to create new realities on the ground ... including illegitimate self-rule initiatives" in the war-torn Arab country.

The trilateral statement came shortly after Erdogan urged Russia and Iran to back his efforts to combat terrorism in Syria, vowing to root out the terrorist organisations that threaten Türkiye's security.

Underlining the grave humanitarian situation in Syria, the leaders rejected the unilateral sanctions and "any discriminatory measures through waivers for certain regions which could lead to this country's [Syria] disintegration by assisting separatist agendas."

The US has issued waivers to the territories controlled by YPG, a Syrian affiliate of PKK, the internationally recognised terror group.

The statement said the leaders expressed their determination to stand against "separatist agendas aimed at undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria and threatening the national security of neighbouring countries," including through cross-border attacks and infiltrations.

Türkiye’s President Erdogan at the trilateral summit in Tehran:

- Safe and voluntarily return of Syrian refugees in Türkiye to back home is at top agenda in our talks
- It must be clearly understood that there is no room for separatist terrorism and its extensions in our region pic.twitter.com/x6oS1tYzIM
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) July 19, 2022

Idlib de-escalation area

All sides reviewed in detail the situation in the Idlib de-escalation zone and stressed that it is necessary to maintain calm on the ground with all agreements on Idlib fully implemented.

They agreed to make further efforts to ensure sustainable normalisation of the situation in and around the Idlib de-escalation area, including the humanitarian situation, according to the statement.

The leaders said there could be "no military solution to the Syrian conflict" and that "it could only be resolved through the Syrian-led and Syrian-owned, UN-facilitated political process in line with the UN Security Council Resolution 2254."

The presidents agreed to hold the next trilateral summit in Russia at the invitation of Putin.

SOURCE: AAAFP