Heads of Russia, Turkey, Iran to resolve issues related to convocation of Syrian National Dialogue Congress - Lavrov

BAKU, November 20. /TASS/. The presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran will resolve all issues related to the convocation of the Syrian National Dialogue Congress at their meeting on November 22, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday when asked if the dates for the Congress had been fixed yet. "At yesterday’s meeting in Antalya, the three guarantor countries of the Syrian ceasefire - Russia, Turkey and Iran - discussed this matter," he said. "We have drawn up some proposals that will be submitted to the three presidents - Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hassan Rouhani - the day after tomorrow," the Russian top diplomat added. "The presidents will make decisions concerning the proposals that we have prepared for them, as well as concerning approaches to issues related to the convocation of the Syrian National Dialogue Congress, including organizational ones," Lavrov said. The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that Russian top diplomat Sergey Lavrov and his Turkish and Iranian counterparts - Mevlut Cavusoglu and Mohammad Javad Zarif - had agreed on recommendations concerning the convocation of Syrian National Dialogue Congress. According to Lavrov, the three countries’ chiefs of General Staff will hold a meeting ahead of the summit. The participation of the Kurds, particularly the Democratic Union Party, is one of the key issues under consideration during the preparations for the Congress. Ankara opposed the Kurdish participation, as Turkey views the Democratic Union Party as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which has been fighting against the Turkish government and is outlawed in Turkey as a terrorist organization. Read more