Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad during a meeting in Sochi
Vladimir Putin meets with the presidents of Turkey and Iran Wednesday for a summit aimed at reviving the peace process in Syria, two days after the Russian leader hosted surprise talks with the war-torn country’s President Bashar al-Assad.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the summit was a “very important event” in efforts to end the six-year conflict, which monitors say has killed more than 330,000 people and forced millions from their homes.
Russia claims to have practically ended the military conflict through its intervention, but the various sides in Syria are far from a political agreement.
Ahead of Wednesday’s summit in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin discussed Syria with his US counterpart Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, among other leaders.
In a lengthy phone call late Tuesday, Putin and Trump stressed the need to ensure “the stability of a unified Syria,” the White House said.
– Military progress –
Syria is divided between forces loyal to Kremlin-allied strongman Assad, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and several jihadist groups and rebel units.
Multiple rounds of talks hosted by the UN have failed to bring an end to the six-year war.
Other initiatives including those spearheaded by Moscow have also failed to bear much fruit.
Encouraged by military progress of the Russian and Syrian forces on the ground, Putin is hoping to breathe new life in the stuttering negotiations.
Regime forces have gained the upper hand on the battlefield with Russia’s help, including recent victories against the Islamic State group and a fresh drive against rebels near Damascus.
Putin said in comments released Tuesday that “thanks to the Russian army, Syria has been saved as a state.”
– ‘Future belongs to Syrians’ –
Ahead of the talks, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani stressed the need for Syria to determine its own fate.
“The future of Syria will not be in the hands of foreign powers,” Rouhani said on Wednesday. “The future of Syria belongs to the Syrian people.”
Moscow, Ankara and Tehran are cooperating with increasing intensity on ending the civil war, even though Turkey backs the rebels, at odds with Russia and Iran.
The Syrian president’s fate remains a stumbling block, preventing global players from reaching a peace settlement.
During their phone call on Tuesday, Putin told Trump that “the Syrian leader confirmed his commitment to the political process, (and) conducting constitutional reform and presidential and parliamentary elections.”
Assad said he wanted to advance negotiations.
“We don’t want to look back and we are ready for dialogue with all those who want to come up with a political settlement,” Assad said in translated comments.
– Riyadh summit –
Wednesday’s summit takes place ahead of parallel UN-led talks in Geneva set for November 28.
Meanwhile Syrian opposition figures gathered in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday in a bid to form an overhauled delegation to peace talks that analysts expect will be more willing to compromise on key demands.
Those talks will aim to bridge divisions between the factions opposed to Assad.
Russia, Iran and Turkey have backed negotiations in the Kazakh capital Astana that have brought together the representatives of the opposition and the regime.
Kremlin said meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad came during a “working visit” by Assad to Russia
Those talks led to the creation of four so-called “de-escalation zones” that produced a drop in violence, but fighting and bombardments continued.
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