Putin to Continue 'Diplomatic Marathon' on Syrian Settlement - Kremlin

The Russian president has earlier this week met with President Bashar Assad, as well as the leaders of Turkey and Iran, the states-guarantors of the Syrian ceasefire regime. "President [Vladimir] Putin has undertaken an intensive diplomatic marathon [on Syria]. Of course, it will continue in one way or another. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Rossiya 1 broadcaster in an interview aired on Sunday. Commenting on the summit held earlier this week in the Russian resort city of Sochi comprising leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran, Peskov said that the recent visit of Syrian President Bashar Assad to Russia has significantly contributed to Wednesday's trilateral talks' results. The statement comes in the wake of the visit by Assad to Sochi, during which he met Putin as well as senior officials from the Defense Ministry and the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, which was followed by the Russia-Iran-Turkey summit during which the three guarantors of the Syrian ceasefire adopted a joint statement, vowing to continue de-escalation efforts in the framework of the Astana peace process. Prior to the meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Putin said that Syria's collapse has been prevented, while the civil war has almost stopped. According to a statement released in the follow up to the meeting, the countries' joint efforts since the establishment of the ceasefire regime in late December 2016 have helped secure a "breakthrough" in bringing closer the elimination of Daesh terrorist group. Read more: https://sputniknews.com/russia/201711261059448360-putin-marathon-syria/