Sochi Summit: Iran, Russia, Turkey Hold Syria Talks
Local Editor
An all-Syrian congress which will see wide representation of the country's opposition is to be held in Sochi, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with Turkish and Iranian counterparts, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hassan Rouhani, who backed the idea.
"The presidents of Iran and Turkey supported the initiative to convene an all-Syrian forum-congress of the national dialogue in Syria. We agreed to hold this important event at the proper level and ensure the participation of representatives of different sectors of Syrian society," Putin said after the talks in Sochi on Wednesday.
"We've tasked the Foreign Ministries, the representatives of special services and Defense Departments to work out the list of participants and the timing of the congress to be held here, in Sochi," he added.
The all-Syrian congress is aimed at "gathering delegates from various political parties, internal and external opposition, ethnic and confessional groups at the negotiating table," Putin said.
Success on the battlefield has paved the way for a new stage of the peaceful settlement of the Syrian crisis, Putin stressed.
"In our common opinion, the success on the battlefield that brings closer the liberation of the whole of Syrian territory from the militants paves the way for a qualitatively new stage in the settlement of the crisis. I'm talking about the real prospects of achieving a long-term, comprehensive normalization in Syria, political adjustment in the post-conflict period," Putin said.
Additionally, Putin said that he and his counterparts see the potential for a long-term, comprehensive political settlement in Syria. The talks in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi lasted two hours, with Putin saying that they were detailed and included all aspects of the Syrian settlement.
He said that he informed Erdogan and Rouhani about the results of his talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which took place in Sochi on Monday. He added that he told the Turkish and Iranian presidents about the "commitment of the Syrian leadership to the principles of peaceful settlement of the political crisis, its readiness to carry out constitutional reform and stage a free, UN-supervised election."
For his part, Rouhani lauded the defeat of Daesh [the Arabic acronym for ‘ISIS/ISIL' terrorist group] in Iraq and Syria, but underlined the need for continued battle against terrorism until the eradication of all Takfiri terrorist outfits in Syria.
He also blamed foreign interference for the conflict in Syria, saying certain countries claiming to be advocates of democracy wreaked havoc in the Arab country to achieve their goals in the region.
"If regional nations and countries are to learn a lesson from the fabricated crisis in Syria today, it is that they should know certain powers claiming to advocate democracy and human rights spare no effort like using terrorism and violence to achieve their short-sighted objectives in the region, Rouhani said.
Meanwhile, Erdogan pointed to preliminary meetings prior to the Sochi tripartite summit, saying the consolidations yielded positive and tangible results, but stressed that more efforts were needed to find an effective solution.
He said it was vital for all parties to contribute to a political solution in the Syrian crisis that would be acceptable for the Syrian people.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
