Turkey, Iran, Russia back Syria’s territorial integrity in Sochi summit

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reiterated Ankara, Moscow and Tehran’s support for Syria’s territorial integrity during his return flight from the Russian city of Sochi. Erdoğan hailed the Astana peace talks as successful, adding that de-escalation zones were continuing to be implemented and that Turkey had completed three of 12 control points in Idlib.

“Our main goal is a permanent and enduring political solution that the Syrian people will accept. We discussed the issue of the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in detail. The three countries will together decide who will be invited to the congress. Before we make this decision, the subcommittees must be formed under the supervision of the foreign ministries,” Erdoğan said.

The Turkish president, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Iran's Hassan Rouhani met in the Russian Black Sea resort for a summit and gave messages highlighting the need for a political solution and territorial integrity of Syria.

“We anticipate that all groups in Syria will be invited. Our attitude towards terrorist organizations like PYD-YPG is final. I expressed this point clearly both at the summit and at the press conference,” Erdoğan added.

The Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its military People’s Protection Units (YPG) wing are Syrian branches of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK), which has waged war against Turkey for more than 30 years.

Russia had invited the PYD-YPG to the Syrian peace congress, but withdrew its invitation following objections by Turkey.

“We expect the congress to contribute to the ceasefire and de-escalation process. There are two main goals. First, a new constitution. We all agree on this. Foreign ministers, the general staff and national intelligence will work together with a delegation of technocrats. Such preparations must also be made for the new constitution,” Erdoğan said.

“The second aim is to have a fair and transparent election under UN surveillance. In this process, it is important the people of Syria can exercise their free will. In the widest sense, all Syrians inside and outside of Syria must determine their own future,” he added.

“We also agree on the need for confidence-building measures such as the release of detainees, the clearing of mines and the delivery of humanitarian aid. When taking these steps, we take the UN Security Council resolution 2254 as its basis. We already have a consensus on this issue. We hope that this work will also accelerate the Geneva process. We can hold a trilateral summit in Sochi again if needed. In the following period, it is also our goal to continue the subsequent summits in Istanbul or Ankara and then Tehran alternately,” Erdoğan said.

Talks in Geneva are sponsored by the UN. The Syrian opposition groups announced early Friday that they would send a combined delegation to the peace negotiations scheduled to be held next week in Geneva.

“It is not possible to put a date on when the Syrian war will end. Everyone agrees that the present situation is not satisfactory and that a solution to the problem must be found. The important thing is to take concrete steps to achieve this. Turkey, Russia and Iran made progress with Astana. In this process, it is necessary to look at what the U.S. and coalition partners are doing and what they will do. While we are taking certain steps towards a solution, we see that the U.S. has sent almost 4,000 trucks of armored tanks and heavy weapons into Syria. These are not weapons the PYD-YPG bought with money. It is said that these weapons were sent toward Afrın,” Erdoğan said.

Turkey has repeatedly objected to U.S. arms being sent to the PYD, due to its links to the terrorist organization the PKK. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.

Erdoğan and U.S. President Donald Trump last spoke in September. The two leaders discussed regional developments and the importance of a strategic partnership to bolster bilateral ties and stability in the Middle East.

“I may hold a phone conversation with U.S. President Trump. In the coming days, our foreign affairs may contacts their U.S. counterparts for this meeting,” Erdoğan said.

“The Sochi summit was important regarding Afrin, as it allowed us to measure the attitude of both Russia and Iran. Now, after seeing their approach, we will continue our work to build control and observation points in Afrin, similarly to those in Idlib. Locals have started to return to Afrin and the demographic structure is returning to normal. In the basic structure of Afrin, 50 percent of the population consists of Arabs, 30 percent of Kurds, and the remaining population consists of Turkmens and other groups. Once people from the camps start returning, cities will yield to its original owners. This also applies to Idlib,” Erdoğan said.