Turkey, Germany, France, UK to meet during NATO summit
ANKARA
Turkey, Germany, France and the U.K. will hold a quadrilateral meeting in the context of Syria, on the sidelines of the NATO summit on Dec. 3 and Dec. 4, Turkey’s presidential spokesman has announced.
“Our president has previously said that such a meeting should take place in Istanbul, Şanlıurfa or Gaziantep. We still think like this because the Syrian issue and the refugees have been happening within and next to Turkey. We believe that [Turkey] is the right address for such a meeting,” İbrahim Kalın said on Nov. 8.
The spokesman’s remarks came after a meeting he held with the national security advisers of the German, French and British leaders on the planned four-way summit on Oct. 8 in Istanbul.
“Due to several reasons, it has been understood that the meeting could not take place before the NATO summit. Thus, it was agreed that the meeting will take place on the sidelines of the NATO summit that is to take place in London on Dec. 3 and Dec. 4,” Kalın added.
The summit will bring President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson together.
Kalın conveyed that during the meeting, Turkey’s “Operation Peace Spring” into northeastern Syria, the return of Syrian refugees, the establishment of the planned safe zone and the following political process were discussed.
He added that Turkey’s operation has paved the way for the establishment of a 30-kilometer-deep safe zone as well as ensure the safe return of Syrian refugees to the planned area.
Erdoğan on Oct. 30 had said that there was a proposal tabled by prominent European countries to hold a four-way meeting with the participation of Turkey, Germany, France and the U.K., on the return of the Syrian refugees.
