First, I'll tell you about Sochi where they determined big politics today. The presidents of Russia, Turkey, and Iran gathered for a new, already the fourth, summit on the Syrian settlement. Among the key issues on the agenda are the situation in Idlib, where terrorists still remain, the planned withdrawal of the American troops, and the formation of a constitutional committee for Syria. And one of the main pieces of news is that the presidents instructed the foreign ministers to include new parties in the trilateral Astana format as observers.
This is our observer Alexey Petrov reporting on it and other outcomes of the summit from Sochi.
This is the fourth summit of the presidents of the countries-guarantors of the Astana Process. And there were so many topics for discussion that the presidents of Russia, Iran, and Turkey actively communicated even while being photographed together. In two years, the Astana Process has become an effective platform for contacts between the Syrian government and the opposition. They've held 11 such meetings. And the main thing is that there are results: Syria is gradually returning to a peaceful life.
Vladimir Putin: "Now, the cessation of hostilities is being observed in almost the entire territory of the country. The level of violence is consistently decreasing. And this is our concrete, common, and undoubtedly positive result".
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey: "The Astana Platform is the most successful initiative to stop the violence in Syria. We've managed to preserve the spirit of the Astana Process despite all sorts of provocations".
After hours of negotiations, there were finally joint concluding statements. Cameras were installed and the light was set in the room for the press conference. There are dozens of journalists from the Middle East and Europe. On the margins, they discuss how the negotiations were held and what the agreements will mean to Syria. The Syrian crisis can only be resolved through diplomatic means. And only the Syrians themselves should determine the future of their own country. The most important task is to continue the fight against the terrorists in Idlib. That part of the country is currently controlled by insurgents.
Vladimir Putin: "We all believe that one of the principles of the settlement should be respect for the territorial integrity of the country in Syria. This applies to the zone of Idlib, this applies to the territories adjacent to the Euphrates, including the eastern part. Of course, the fight against terrorism should be continued wherever the terrorists are. This was my first point. My second point is that we don't support anything that would be connected with separatism. We believe that the dialogue within Syria itself should lead to the fact that society and the state will be fully restored".
The leaders have repeatedly touched upon Trump's decision to withdraw the American troops from Syria. But it's still unclear how this process will work. A lot will depend on the consistency of the US President.
Vladimir Putin: "We know that US President Trump is quite actively working to fulfill his electoral promises, which quite rarely happens in practice in US politics. One of these promises is the withdrawal of the American troops from Syria. But as was just said here, the domestic political situation is such that he doesn't always succeed in achieving the goals he sets for himself. We don't know what will happen next. As of now, we state that there aren't any major changes in the territory. But we believe that it'll still happen, and if so, the only right solution to ensure security is to transfer these territories to the control of the Syrian Armed Forces.
Hassan Rouhani, President of Iran: "The entire territory of Syria should be under the unified control of the legitimate government of Syria, both Idlib and the eastern bank of the Euphrates. The territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria is a fundamental point".
When Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu appeared in the room before the press conference, he was immediately surrounded by the press. Journalists asked whether there are signs of the American troops returning to their homeland.
Sergei Shoigu, Defense Minister: "So far, we don't see them withdrawing their troops. Moreover, we see active support of those divisions, the Kurdish ones in particular, with vehicles and weaponry, which are located on the east bank of Euphrates".
Now, it's extremely important to form a constitutional committee as soon as possible. In order to resolve the situation, The structure, which includes representatives of the opposition and the government, should prepare amendments to the basic law. In essence, it should define the country's future. The agreements on the formation of lists were made in Istanbul at a meeting with the participation of Putin, Erdogan, Macron, and Merkel. Moreover, Germany and France themselves were determined to agree on the lists before the new year. However, later, in Geneva, there were objections from de Mistura. As a result, everything stalled.
Vladimir Putin: “I want to note with satisfaction that, in general, we've made progress. It's too early to mark the end. But we expressed our bewilderment about the positions of some of our partners regarding the formation of a constitutional committee, since we, it seemed to us, met all of the conditions, and the result even exceeded the expectations. Therefore, I got the impression that the process of creating a constitutional committee isn't just inhibited, but sabotaged, although they publicly state that it's necessary to act by political means. But, despite all of these difficulties, we've continued to work hard, and I think that we'll be able to report the final result in the near future. And the sooner we do it, the better.”
Russia actively supplies humanitarian aid to Syria. But it's important that other countries don't stand aside, much less put a spoke in the wheels. In the past six months, over 130,000 Syrian refugees managed to safely return home thanks to the efforts of Russia, Turkey, and Iran.
- What else could the three countries do for them to return home? And who else, in your opinion, could do it, and if they could, then why have they not done it?
Vladimir Putin: "If everyone wants the refugees to return to their homeland, then everything must be done to ensure that their living conditions are dignified and decent. And therefore, for some political reasons, one shouldn't limit the provision of humanitarian aid to the Syrian people. And the decisions of some countries to impose sanctions against those companies and individuals which provide this humanitarian assistance, cooperate with the Syrian government in order to restore the infrastructure, provide assistance in healthcare, education, etc seems even stranger. Everyone should unite to do one thing: to help Syria restore its statehood".
And here's what happened on the margins of the summit. Vladimir Putin's motorcade pulled up. The president greeted Shoigu, Lavrov, and Peskov. He continued to talk to the ministers as they walked and in the negotiating room before the president of Turkey arrived. The heads of Gazprom and Rosatom, companies that have huge projects in Turkey, stood nearby. After the bilateral meeting with Erdogan, there was a meeting with the Iranian delegation Its members sought to record the handshake between Putin and Rouhani on their phones.
There are still many issues to solve. Both Russia and its partners are making every effort to ensure peace in Syria. And today's meeting in Sochi is another confirmation of the effectiveness of the Astana Process.
Alexey Petrov, Alexandra Terpugova, Alexander Antonov, and Nikita Fomkin for Vesti from Sochi.
