Putin, Erdogan in Tehran to Attend Trilateral Meeting on Syria

The trilateral meeting will see Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Turkish and Russian counterparts discussing efforts to bring an end to the 7-year conflict in Syria.

This is the third trilateral summit between the three leaders. Previous meetings were held in Russia and Turkey.

The three countries, known as guarantors of the Syria ceasefire regime, have also held several rounds of talks in Kazakhstan’s Astana and elsewhere to help ease the conflict.

They have managed to sharply reduce violence in the country, thanks to measures including establishing de-escalation zones in the country.

The Tehran Summit comes at the Syrian Army is about to start an operation to retake control of Idlib, the last stronghold of its opponents in Syria.

Turkey, a main backer of forces fighting the Syrian government, has warned about the consequences of clashes in the region.

Hossein Jaberi Ansari, a senior Iranian diplomat, said on Thursday the three leaders will discuss the fate of Idlib, Fars News Agency reported.

“We seek a solution based on an agreement that allows the Syrian government to retake control of Idlib,” he said.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said this week the three presidents will also discuss bilateral relations and could hopefully reach agreements to boost trilateral cooperation.