Turkey, Russia, Iran leaders meet ahead of Syria talks

Turkey, Russia and Iran leaders are holding technical talks Monday in Sochi, Russia, ahead of a 10th round of Syria peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, slated for July 31st.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani held talks in Ankara on Wednesday with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan ahead of a three-way summit with Russia on the Syrian conflict.

The three countries are working together to try to reduce the violence in Syria despite supporting opposing sides in the war. Russia and Iran are Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s strongest backers, while Turkey supports anti-Assad insurgents.

The Astana talks will address the latest situation in de-escalation zones in Syria’s Idlib, the return of the refugees, the release of prisoners and the formation of a committee that will rewrite Syria’s constitution.

UN officials and Jordan are taking part in Monday’s talks as observers while the U.S. again opted not to send a representative.

The main Syrian opposition group is represented by Ahmed Tuma, the former premier of the Syrian interim government, and the regime is represented by Bashar Jaafari, the regime’s permanent representative to the UN.

During the 9th Astana meeting held on May 14-15, all parties agreed to maintain the de-escalation zones and the cease-fire regime.

Goobjoog News