Turkey, Russia, Iran summit to be held in August

ANKARA

A trilateral summit between Turkey, Russia and Iran aiming to discuss the Syrian conflict will be held in Turkey in August, presidential spokesperson İbrahin Kalın said on July 4.

“The meeting will mainly be on Idlib and other parts of Syria, on the general security situation, transition processes, constitutional commission and re-settlement,” Kalın said at a press conference after a cabinet meeting.

There would be another meeting with Russian, German and French leaders on the issue of Syria at the end of August or at the beginning of September, he added.  The leaders of the four countries last year gathered for a summit in Istanbul to discuss Syria.

“During the G20 summit, it was agreed upon that a four-party summit just like the one from last year will be held in Istanbul hosted by our president… A quadruple summit is planned before going to the U.N. General Assembly,” he said.    

Turkey, Russia and Iran are guarantor countries that brokered a cease-fire in Syria in December 2016, leading to the Astana talks, which are running parallel to the Geneva peace talks.  

The leaders of the three countries regularly meet for an assessment of the process which focused on Idlib and adjacent areas - the last stronghold of the rebels - and a political process which awaits the formation of a constitutional committee.  

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when Bashar al-Assad’s regime cracked down on protesters with unexpected ferocity.      

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed and millions more displaced by the conflict.   

Under the Astana agreement, Turkey established 12 observation points from Idlib’s north to south aiming to monitor and sustain the current cease-fire agreement for the de-escalation zones, deliver humanitarian aid and ensure the secure return of displaced people. However, Turkey’s military establishment is Idlib has been subject to several attacks by the regime recently.

About the Russian S-400 defense systems, Kalın said they would be delivered to Turkey very soon.    

“This is not a defense system that would pose a threat or danger to our current security system, especially within the NATO system,” Kalın said. S-400 systems will be used actively, he noted.

“First of all, it is a defense system, not an attack system against another country, therefore it is not a threat to another country,” he added.    

Kalın said the Defense Ministry and the Air Force Command will be deciding upon where the air missiles will be deployed.