FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
Presidents of Turkey, Russia, and Iran Reaffirm Commitment to Syrian Ceasefire Process
April 4, 2018 (EIRNS)—The Presidents of Turkey, Russia and Iran, the three countries that are the guarantors of the ceasefire process in Syria, met today for their second trilateral summit on Syria. The three Presidents—Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Vladimir Putin of Russia, and Hassan Rouhani of Iran—issued a statement emphasizing that the Astana format of ceasefire negotiations in Syria has been the only effective international initiative that had helped reduce violence across Syria and had contributed to peace and stability in Syria, giving impetus to the Geneva process in order to find a lasting political solution to the Syrian conflict.
According to the statement, published on the official Iranian Presidential website, the three presidents “Emphasized their strong and continued commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity, territorial integrity and non-sectarian character of Syria.” They therefore
“rejected all attempts to create new realities on the ground under the pretext of combatting terrorism and expressed their determination to stand against separatist agendas aimed at undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria as well as the national security of neighboring countries.”
With respect to the political process within Syria, the three Presidents
“Expressed their conviction that there could be no military solution to the Syrian conflict and that the conflict could be ended only through a negotiated political process.”
They also
“Reiterated the necessity to assist the Syrians in restoring the unity of their country and in achieving a political solution of the ongoing conflict through an inclusive, free, fair and transparent Syrian-led and Syrian-owned process based on the free will of the Syrian people and leading to a constitution enjoying the support of the Syrian people....”
On terrorism, they
“Reaffirmed their determination to continue their cooperation in order to ultimately eliminate DAESH/ISIL, Nusra Front and all other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with al-Qaeda or DAESH/ISIL....”
In this respect, separating armed opposition groups from terrorist groups “bore utmost importance with respect to preventing civilian casualties.”
The three Presidents also
“Called upon the international community, particularly the UN and its humanitarian agencies, to increase its assistance to Syria by sending additional humanitarian aid, facilitating humanitarian mine action, restoring basic infrastructure assets, including social and economic facilities, and preserving historical heritage.”
