Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani today to discuss the war in Syria. The Kremlin boss received his colleagues in the southern Russian Black Sea city of Sochi. In advance, Putin had talks with Erdogan. Putin was optimistic that the summit would give a „new impetus“ for a settlement of the conflict in Syria.
Erdogan said after the two-party meeting that the impending withdrawal of the US Army from Syria was „one of the key challenges ahead.“ In December, US President Donald Trump surprisingly announced the complete withdrawal of some 2,000 US soldiers stationed in Syria. Rouhani described the project as „good news“ before leaving for Sochi. Announcements from the US, however, „never“ can rely, said the Iranian President.
„Military agreement“ met
Russia and Iran provide military support to Syria’s ruler Bashar al-Assad. Turkey is on the side of moderate rebels and wants to prevent in particular a strengthening of the Kurds in the neighboring country. Erdogan said in Sochi that if the Kurdish People’s Defense Units (YPG) and its political arm, the PYD, were not expelled from the Syrian city of Manbijk and the areas east of the Euphrates, Syria’s territorial integrity could „not be secured“.
Erdogan also announced after his talks with Putin that, as a sign of their willingness to cooperate, their countries had signed a „military agreement“ on joint patrols to contain radical groups in Idlib. The province in northwestern Syria is still under the control of rebels.
