Russia has offered Turkey its assistance in solving the problems of fighting terrorists in Idlib, a relevant initiative is under consideration by the Turkish side, Alexander Lavrentiev, the Russian President's Special Representative for the Syrian Settlement, said on Wednesday at a press conference on the results of the 17th international meeting on Syria in the Astana format.
"For our part, we have offered the Turkish side our assistance in solving tasks in the Idlib de-escalation zone to combat terrorists. And the issue is now under consideration by the Turkish side. We very much hope that next year in this regard will bring positive results and we will be able to get rid of the terrorist threat that comes from the territory of Idlib," he said.
According to the special representative, Moscow sees that Turkish partners are making certain efforts in order to fulfill their obligations in the relevant sphere. "But unfortunately, this process is really very protracted," he continued. - "And we still cannot reach the agreements that were reached between our presidents on March 5, 2019."
As Lavrentiev noted, this primarily concerns "the withdrawal of fighters from the southern part of Idlib behind the M4 highway and the location of Turkish and Russian observation posts on both sides of this road."
According to Lavrentiev, Turkish representatives assured the Russian side that their military will withdraw from Syrian territory as soon as possible.
"Our Turkish partners are constantly telling us, stressing that they are for the territorial integrity of Syria, for the unity of Syria, for its independence, that they are there temporarily and will leave as soon as the opportunity allows," he said.
Lavrentiev stressed that the situation with the United States is somewhat different. "They are indeed in Washington declaring that they intend to stay on the territory of Syria, in the Euphrates for quite a long time, indefinitely, which, of course, is absolutely unacceptable. He is referring not only to staying in the Euphrates but also to the 55-kilometer zone of Al-Tanf," the special representative pointed out.
According to him, Russia is convinced that the American presence is the root cause of the continuing tension in southern Syria. "We are convinced that a very large number of existing problems not only in the south of Syria, but also in the Euphrates, can be solved by the withdrawal of the Americans from these territories," the diplomat added. - "In our contacts with the Americans, we convey our concerns to them and offer them a solution to the issue'".
Meeting of foreign ministers of the Astana troika countries
Turkey offered its venue for a meeting of foreign ministers of the Astana troika countries (Russia, Iran, Turkey). "We have agreed to hold a preliminary meeting of the foreign ministers of the "Astana troika," our Turkish partners kindly offer their platform for such a meeting," he said.
Lavrentiev added that he expects a meeting of the leaders of the three countries of the format to be held in Tehran as soon as possible. "Of course, we understand that we cannot name specific dates right now. <...> We expect the meeting to be held in the very near future, but depending on the emerging covid constraints," the special representative added.
Earlier, Ali Asghar Hadji, Senior Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs on Special Political Issues, told TASS that the Astana format summit could take place in February-March 2022.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Zuma \ TASS
Based on materials from TASS