President of Russia, Iran, Turkey reaffirm determination to continue cooperation on Syria - statement

ANKARA, April 4. /TASS/. The presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran have reaffirmed their determination to continue active cooperation on Syria, says a joint statement adopted at a trilateral summit in Ankara, which was published on the Iranian president’s website. "The Presidents reaffirmed their determination to continue their active cooperation on Syria for the achievement of lasting ceasefire between the conflicting parties and advancement of the political process envisaged by the UN Security Council Resolution 2254," the statement reads. Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hassan Rouhani also "expressed their conviction that the Syrian National Dialogue Congress, which was convened in Sochi on 30 January 2018, constituted an important milestone in paving the way for the political process, reiterated their commitment to follow up on the results of the Congress, reflecting the will of representatives of all segments of the Syrian society, in particular the agreement to form a Constitutional Committee, supported by the UN Secretary-General and the international community. They reaffirmed their support to facilitate the beginning of the Committee’s work in Geneva as soon as possible with the assistance of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria and in coordination with three guarantor states." "The 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," the statement adds. Putin, Erdogan and Rouhani "emphasized their strong and continued commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity, territorial integrity and non-sectarian character of Syria. They highlighted that none of the actions, no matter by whom they were undertaken, should undermine these principles, confirmed by relevant UN resolutions and by the will of the representatives of all segments of the Syrian society. They 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." The Russian-Turkish-Iranian summit on the Syria issue took place in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Wednesday. Read more