Astana process most effective move for political solution in Syria: Erdogan
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the Astana peace process is the most effective measure to facilitate peace and stability in Syria.
Following the seventh Astana peace summit, which was held in the capital Tehran on Tuesday evening, Erdogan addressed reporters in the presence of his Russian and Iranian counterparts, saying that they reviewed their activities in line with creating peace and stability in Syria once more tonight in order to pave the way for a political solution in the country.
The Astana process is the most effective measure, which facilitates political solutions in this respect, the Turkish president emphasized.
Terrorism was another issue discussed in the Astana peace summit and the three countries see no difference among organizations such as PJAK, YPG, and PKK, and do not accept the way that one is used as a tool and another is being fought.
We discussed the implementation of previous agreements and that these terrorist organizations are problems for all because they plan to break up Turkey’s lands, Erdogan said, noting that we enjoy the same idea in this regard that the only way out of the Syrian crisis is a political solution; therefore, we told other partners in Astana summit that the pace of political talks to reach sustainable solution should be speeded up.
Emphasizing the need for the conclusion of activities by the constitution committee in Syria as soon as possible, the Turkish president said that the Syrian regime follows up an inconsistent stance in this respect and that the process should end up in a conclusion in line with the United Nations’ parameters that means the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254 should be implemented in Syria to create peace and stability in the Arab country.
The seventh summit meeting of Astana peace process guarantors was held in the presence of presidents of the three countries – Iran, Russia, and Turkey – in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Tuesday evening.
Presidents of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russia Vladimir Putin, and Iran Ebrahim Raisi held talks in the Astana peace talks, stressing the need for respecting Syria's national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The summits were initiated in Kazakhstan's capital in January 2017, so the peace negotiations were called Astana peace talks back then.
The talks retained the same name as the Astana negotiations after Kazakhstan changed the name of its capital city to Nur-Sultan in 2019.